


The Little Blue Eyed Girl

by GE72



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Comic Strip References, Gen, Hostage Situation, Inside jokes, Murder Mystery, Pararells to Charlie Brown, Peanuts References, Police Procedural, Psychological Isolation, White Collar Crime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:46:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 24,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25652314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GE72/pseuds/GE72
Summary: (Season 10) The Behavioral Analysis Unit heads to suburban Sacramento to find a serial killer who leaves clip outs of a popular comic strip on his victims. The case is complicated by attempts by persons who try to frame a socially rejected high school student for the murders, a person who the unsub believes the comic strip is based upon.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

_“You can go through comic strips alone and study the common man. You can trace our history.”_ – Mort Walker.  
________________________________________________

Classes just let out for the day at Granite Bay High School. Students left the campus, eager to go home or go out to the nearest mall, arcade, or burger joint, with their friends.

All except Karl Browning.

The dark haired high school junior walked at a deliberate pace, his book bag slung over his right shoulder. He walked past his fellow students, all of whom seemed to be clustered with their friends. One or two, maybe more. Definitely more. They were all with their friends. They all had friends.

Everyone, it seemed, but him.

Most everyone in the school did their best to ignore him. Even when they talked to him, it was clear they were doing it against their will. It was like a sign was attached to him that said, “BEWARE – Socially Unacceptable.” Even what few friends he had – and they probably regretted calling themselves that – sometimes didn’t want to be around him, especially after what his father did. He figured that he was paying for the sins of the father, though what his father did was right in the eyes of the law.

He walked across the main street in front of the high school, Wellington Way, and onto the sidewalk along Copperwood Drive. He lived only a few blocks away from the school, so he walked it every day when it didn’t rain. He had a car but he hardly drove it, given the price of gas. Since it had hardly rained in the Sacramento area since last winter – heck, it hardly rained in the whole state of California since that time – Karl usually walked back and forth from school. 

Karl walked up the street, seemingly alone among the students leaving school by foot or by car at that hour.

There was a honk of a car horn. Karl turned to see a red Mustang convertible come alongside him on the street. There were two girls seated inside.

“Hey Karl!” Lisa Weston called out. “Did you hear about Kathy Stevens’ party on Saturday night?”

“No,” Karl replied.

“Good,” Shauna Lanville said back. “You weren’t invited anyway!”

The two girls laughed as they drove off. Karl just stood there, a victim of another cold rejection, as he watched them drive away.

Little did either one of them knew that somebody was watching them the entire time.

_Why do you do this to him? It’s not his fault. He’s a good person. But you don’t care, do you?_

____________________________________________

Shauna got out of the Mustang and thanked Lisa for the ride home. She watched as Lisa’s Mustang drove off, then went inside her house. Once inside, she put her book bag on the kitchen table and got a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. She had just opened the bottle when her cell phone rang.

“Oh, hi mom,” she said, with her phone in one hand, and the bottle in the other. “I just got home …. You’ll be home at five?....Don’t worry, I’ll be here….” The doorbell rang. 

“Someone’s at the door, mom …. Okay, I’ll see you and dad then…..Bye….”

Shauna put her phone down and answered the door.

“Oh, hi. Come on in.” Her friend came inside.

“You know, me and Lisa were talking about this weekend,” Shauna said, as she walked down the breezeway back to the kitchen. “We were thinking about headed down to Stockton to see a concert. This hot band called Resin 7. Better still, head over to Tahoe. Lisa has a friend of a friend who can get us inside a club inside one of the casinos. Fake ID’s, of course.” 

They walked past a decorative table that had a pair of marble based candle holders on top. 

“You’re welcome to join us,” Shauna said, as they stopped in the kitchen. “The more the merrier.” She turned around to face her friend. “Anyway, I was thinking that maybe – “

One of the candleholders struck Shauna on the side of the head without warning. She fell to the floor hitting the ground with a dull thud.

But it wasn’t enough. The friend knelt down next to her and hit her again with the candleholder. And again. And again. And again. Blood splattered from where the marble base hit around her head and face.

When it was over, Shauna Lanville lay there, dead, her eyes still open, blood was splattered all over the floor and nearest wall. Shauna was no longer a friend. The unsub dropped the candleholder to the floor next to the body.

Then the unsub took out a strip of paper and placed it on the body, then left.

The paper had a comic strip on it.

In the first panel: Bobby Blue asked Lori Lavender, _“Why does everyone hate me?”_

Second panel: Lori Lavender replied, _“It’s nothing personal. It was your turn.”_

Third panel: Bobby Blue: _“That’s it? It was universal random chance that I’m disliked just because?”_

Fourth panel: Lori Lavender: _“I can’t think of a better reason. Besides, you’re not all that good looking.”_

The unsub walked out of the Lanville residence and down the street. It was sunny outside and so was her demeanor, even after killing someone.

_I’m here for you,_ she said to herself. _I’ll be here for you Bobby Blue._


	2. Chapter 2

F.B.I., BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS UNIT  
QUANTICO, VIRGINIA

Doctor Spencer Reid noticed the textbook that fellow FBI agent Kate Callahan was going through.

“A little light reading?” he asked. 

“You can say that,” she replied.

David Rossi walked by her desk in the agents’ bullpen. He also noticed the book but for a different reason.

“I can autograph that if you want me to,” he quipped.

“No thanks,” Callahan said. “But it doesn’t hurt to brush up on the technique.” She raised up the book enough that Reid could read the cover. Hostage Negotiation, a text for the academy, written by David Rossi many years ago, among many other books he had written.

Rossi quickly asked Callahan, “What are the steps to a successful negotiation in such a situation?” 

Callahan, the most recent addition to the Behavioral Analysis Unit, closed the book. “Active Listening, Empathy, Rapport, Influence, and Change,” she replied. She then added, “Always stay positive, and think in positives. Try to agree with the subject without giving anything away.”

“You get a gold star for the day,” Rossi said.

Callahan looked at Reid, the BAU’s resident genius. “Have you been in a negotiation situation?” she asked him.

“If you want to call it that,” Reid replied. “There were these three women who had been kidnapped by a woman who was keeping them as dolls in New Jersey. I had her old collection to give to her so she could surrender. That one ended well.”

“What didn’t end well?”

“I’d rather not get into that,” he recalled.

“Well, at least you were prepared,” Callahan said. “Hopefully, I’ll be too.”

There was a loud whistle from the walkway next to the bullpen, courtesy of Penelope Garcia, the BAU’s technical analyst.

“We got a case,” she announced. Rossi, Reid, and Callahan immediately headed over to the conference room. They were soon joined by Aaron Hotchner, the unit chief, Derek Morgan, and Jennifer “J.J.” Jareau at the round table in the room.

Garcia began the presentation of the case.

“Tuesday afternoon in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, seventeen-year old Shauna Lanville was found by her parents in their home when they got home from work.” Garcia clicked on the monitor for the crime scene photos but avoided looking at them. “As you can see, she was bludgeoned to death.” 

One of the photos showed Shauna Lanville sprawled out on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood, her face bashed in.

“The unsub used a candle holder with a marble base on her,” Hotchner remarked. “Apparently, there was lots of rage. M.E. report says her skull was bashed in. No usable prints found at the scene.”

“Weapon of opportunity,” Morgan added.

“Police believe she had just come home from school when she was killed,” Garcia continued. “She was a student at Granite Bay High School. Hers was the third such murder in the area. The first two victims were Robert Kenney, 26 years old from Roseville. He was found dead two weeks ago in a park, stabbed once in the neck, cutting his carotid. The second victim was Matt Sherman, a small convenience store owner, 35 years old. He was shot behind his store last week.”

“So, what ties these three murders together?” Rossi asked.

Garcia replied, “Bobby Blue.”

“Who is Bobby Blue?” Reid asked.

“More like what, though ‘who’ also fits,” Garcia said. “It’s a comic strip.” She clicked on the monitor, as three separate photos of comic strips appeared on screen. “These comic strips photocopied out of the Sacramento Bee newspaper were found at each crime scene on the victim.”

“I’ve read the comic strip with Henry,” J.J. said. “He likes them.”

“My son reads it too,” Hotchner said.

“Meg liked it as well,” Callahan added, referring to her niece. “I think she’s growing out of it, though.”

“They may not want to read it after this,” Garcia said.

“The first comic strips were in the Middle Ages,” Reid pointed out. “They were made on tapestries and depicted events in the Bible that had words on scrolls that came out of the speakers mouths.”

“Maybe the victims resemble a character in the comic strip in the mind of the unsub,” J.J. said.

“It’s possible,” Callahan said. “But from what I know of the comic strip, the only characters are children no older than ten years old. There are no adults.”

“Yet the unsub identifies his victims with this comic strip,” J.J. said.

“There’s another thing too,” Hotchner said. “This came from the Sacramento field office. They believe one of the murders affected one of their cases. The first victim, Kenney, was involved in a federal investigation of fraud and embezzlement.”

“I’ll dig into the background of the victims,” Garcia said, “as well as the comic strip creator.”

“Let’s get there before our unsub identifies more victims,” Hotchner said. “Wheels up in thirty.”

____________________________________________

The Gulfstream Jet took off from the Quantico Airfield for the six hour flight to California. With the time change going to the west, it would be about three o’clock Pacific time when they landed in Sacramento.

On the jet, the agents went over the evidence and crime scene photos that had been sent via e-mail to them by the Roseville police and the Sacramento FBI field office.

“Two adults, then a teenaged girl,” Morgan said. “The victimology doesn’t look random.”

“From what I’m seeing,” added Reid, “the victims either knew their assailant or didn’t perceive him as a threat.”

“It worries me that he went from two adult males in their thirties,” said Callahan, “to a teenaged girl. The shift seems a little drastic.”

“It worries me too,” Rossi added. “The three must have crossed paths, if not literally with each other, then at least in the mind of the unsub.”

“Plus, Shauna Lanville was killed in the daytime,” J.J. said. “The unsub could’ve been seen leaving her home.”

“Maybe being seen isn’t a priority with the unsub,” Hotchner said. “Maybe he’s known in the neighborhood and blends in, so nobody really notices him.”

“The comic strip at the scenes,” said Rossi. “That’s a puzzler. And why that particular comic strip?”

There was a buzz on the laptop on the table. J.J. opened it up for the conference call. “Whatcha got Garcia?”

The team’s ever quirky, eccentric computer tech analyst’s face appeared on the screen. “Good news, bad news,” she said.

“Bad news first,” Kate said.

“Roseville police just sent us a file on the second victim,” Garcia replied. “Turns out Matt Sherman wasn’t exactly innocent. They checked his prints and photo and it came up in connection with four unsolved murders in California. All four were classified as execution style murders, meaning Mr. Sherman was most likely a hit man in his spare time.”

“Now that’s a drastic shift,” Morgan said. “And the good news?”

“I also looked up the creator of the Bobby Blue comic strip. His name is Lee Blanchet, 54 years old, served in the U.S. Navy for five years. No criminal record whatsoever. Married for twenty five years to Sally Kirkwood. Two kids who are no longer kids, a daughter in college at Stanford, and a son serving in the Navy. They are living happily ever after in Rancho Cordova, just outside of Sacramento. His comic strip is syndicated in over one hundred and seventy newspapers nationwide.”

“Thanks baby girl.”

“Anytime.” The screen went blank.

“So, what was your favorite comic strip to read when you were growing up?” J.J. asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“Shoe,” Morgan replied. “The artist was a Chicago guy. You?”

“Bloom County,” J.J. said. “What about you Kate?”

“I’ve always been partial to Garfield,” Kate replied.

“Jack likes Garfield too,” Hotchner added.

“Beetle Bailey got me through Vietnam,” Rossi said, “even though he was Army, not Marines.”

J.J. looked over at Reid. “I hate to think what comic strips you read as a child.”

“Doonesbury,” he replied. 

“I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Maybe it’s time that somebody made a new comic strip,” Kate suggested.

“Any ideas?” asked Morgan.

Kate thought about it, then answered, “How about a little girl who has the ability to talk to ghosts?” 

They all just looked at Kate before Reid said, “That would never work.”

Hotchner decided it was time to get things back on track. “When we land in Sacramento, Rossi and Kate, visit the latest crime scene. Reid and Morgan, see the coroner. Me and J.J. will set up at the police department.”

A couple of hours later, the jet landed at Sacramento International Airport. The agents de-planed and headed for the terminal. It was just after three o’clock in the capital of California, and very warm under a clear blue sky.

As they walked, Reid said to Kate, “A girl who can talk to ghosts? Really?”

Kate responded, “How about a comic strip that’s about a rock and roll band that’s made up of elementary and junior high aged kids?”

Reid replied, “I think you should quit while you’re behind.” 

__________________________________________________

POLICE HEADQUARTERS  
ROSEVILLE, CALIFORNIA

Hotchner and J.J. arrived at the Roseville Police Station, a modern building located north of Interstate 80. Their contact was waiting for them as soon as they entered the building.

“Hi, agents, I’m detective Curtis Harland,” he said. Harland was in late thirties, with brown hair and sporting glasses. “Welcome to California.” Hotchner and J.J. returned the introductions. 

“I tried to get a hold of you earlier, but your plane was landing,” Harland said. “There’s been a development.”

“What kind of development?” Hotchner asked.

“Two uniformed police officers acting on a tip made an arrest in Shauna Lanville’s murder. The suspect is here in custody."

“What?” Hotchner exclaimed. 

“I’m just as upset as you are,” Harland said. “They acted without authorization and without cause. I just got done talking with the officers who made the arrest. Their sergeant is currently reading them the riot act.”

“Not exactly the way to start an investigation,” J.J. said. “Just who did they arrest?”

Harland replied, “One of Shauna Lanville’s classmates. His name is Karl Browning.”


	3. Chapter 3

Karl Browning was in the conference room, as Hotchner, J.J., and detective Harland came inside. He looked downtrodden and already defeated.

Hotchner introduced himself and the others to the high school student. “Hi,” he quietly said back.

“We’re sorry this happened,” Hotchner said. “This was a mistake.”

“We called your father,” Harland said. “He’s on his way.”

“Thank you,” Karl said, avoiding eye contact.

J.J. sat down in a chair next to him. “Don’t worry,” she said to him. “Everything will be fine. People make mistakes.”

“You’re not the one who has to go to school tomorrow,” Karl said. “Those cops arrested me as I was coming out of school. Everyone saw it.”

There was a knock on the conference room door. Harland opened the door and a uniformed officer said something to him.

Harland said, “Agent Hotchner, his father is here.”

Leaving J.J. with Karl Browning, Hotchner followed Harland out past the detectives’ bullpen to the reception area. A man in his fifties with dark hair and a very angry look about him was waiting.

“Mr. Browning, I assume,” Detective Harland said.

“Yes, I’m Ken Browning. Now, where’s my son? Why the hell did you arrest him?”

“Follow me sir.” Harland and Hotchner led Ken Browning to the conference room. Karl was still there with J.J. when he saw his father.

“Dad!”

“Come on son,” Mr. Browning said, “we’re going home.”

“Hold up a minute,” Hotchner said. “Since your son is here, maybe he can help us.”

“And who are you?” Browning demanded.

“F.B.I.” Hotchner and J.J. showed Ken Browning their credentials.

“Well, you can find out who called the cops and told them my son is a murderer, so I can sue them for slander!” Browning said.

“Mr. Browning, we’re sorry it happened this way,” Harland said. “But maybe your son might know or have seen something.”

“He doesn’t know anything!” Browning insisted. “Now I’m taking him home – “

“It’s okay dad,” Karl said.

Browning looked at his son. “Are you sure?” His son nodded. 

J.J. asked him, “Karl, did you see anything yesterday before Shauna was killed?”

“No,” Karl said. He added that he was walking home, when Lisa and Shauna stopped long enough to taunt him before driving off. “I walked past Shauna’s house, and I didn’t see anyone there. Lisa had dropped her off. That’s all.”

“Did you see anybody else? Maybe anything out of the ordinary?”

“No, just other kids in the neighborhood. I’m pretty sure they didn’t see anything or anyone who looked out of place.” 

“Okay, that’s all for now,” Hotchner said. “We’ll be in touch if we need anything else.”

“Thank you,” Browning said. Karl got up and walked out of the conference room with his father. Hotchner and J.J. followed them out to the reception area. 

“I just know my son is going to catch hell for this,” Browning said. “He had nothing to do with that girl’s murder, but everyone’s going to say he did and not let him forget it.”

“We’re sorry,” J.J. said. “We’ll try to do our best to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

The Brownings said their goodbyes and left the station. Hotchner and J.J. returned to the conference room.

J.J. said to Hotchner, “I can set up a press briefing, and tell the press that Karl Browning has been cleared and is no longer a suspect in the case.”

“Good idea,” Hotchner said. “Now we have to find out who actually did it.”

________________________________________

At the coroner’s office in Roseville, Morgan and Reid looked over the corpse of Shauna Lanville. The sheet was pulled down only to reveal her head and face. It was all cleaned up aside from the bruising and the cuts made by the killer.

“There’s nothing to add,” said the coroner. “Death by multiple blunt force traumas to the head and face.” 

“Hit from behind, initially?” Reid asked.

“No,” the coroner replied. “All the blows came in the front.”

“In other words,” Morgan said, “she was facing the unsub when she was killed.”

“Unsub was someone she knew,” Reid said. 

The coroner said, “First blow from the candleholder came at a slight downward angle, hitting the victim on the left side, right at the temple.”

“Unsub is right handed,” Reid said. “Probably the same height as the victim.”

“The first blow more or less did her in. The other blows came while she was down.”

“Unsub didn’t want her getting back up,” Morgan said. “Rage mixed with efficiency.”

“What about the other two victims?” Reid asked. “Robert Kenney and David Sherman?”

“Nothing special about them,” the coroner replied. “Kenney was stabbed once in the neck. He was found in Feist Park.”

“Kenney must have known his killer as well,” Reid said, “or at least didn’t perceive him as a threat.”

“As for Mr. Sherman,” the coroner continued, “he was shot at his place of work. He was taking out the garbage to a trash bin, when he was killed. I pulled a thirty-two caliber slug out of his chest. Severed the vena cava. Dead before he hit the ground.”

Morgan and Reid left the coroner’s office. 

“The victims were killed in a variety of ways,” Morgan said. “Stabbing, shooting, weapon of opportunity with the candleholder.”

“Sounds like he’s organized, and yet adaptable,” Reid said.

“Yet our victims seem to have nothing in common with each other.”

“All except a comic strip.”

_____________________________________

Rossi and Kate were at the Lanville home, just a few blocks from Granite Bay High School. They stood inside the kitchen area, where her parents had found her body.

“According to the parents, they came home and found her on the kitchen floor,” Rossi said. “Unsub just left her there.”

“The mother said she was on the phone with Shauna,” Kate said, “then the doorbell rang. That’s when Shauna hung up her phone.”

“And probably let the unsub in,” Rossi said.

The part of the kitchen floor where Shauna Lanville had been found still had blood on it. There was also a body outline. Crime scene tape was over the front door but removed by officers at the scene guarding the home to let the agents inside the house. The parents of Shauna Lanville were currently staying at a hotel in Sacramento.

“I think our unsub could be female,” Kate suggested.

“What makes you say that?” Rossi asked.

“Someone knocks at your door, and you let them in. Why? Because they’re a friend. A girl friend. A classmate from school. Someone you know and trust.”

“Someone you don’t think will bash your head in.” Rossi nodded. “Good theory, but what about the first two victims? Both of them were male, strong and physically fit. How would they know a high school girl?”

“Crossed paths when they were with someone else,” Kate said. “The unsub was friends with someone who knew the victims. Granted, it’s a working theory.”

“It’s good to explore the possibilities, so as to narrow them down to identify the unsub.”

Rossi and Kate left the house. The officers were guarding the scene were still outside. On the other side of the street, a throng of curious onlookers, mostly teenagers, had gathered.

“Do you think one of them is the unsub?” Kate asked, as they approached their agency allotted Chevy SUV.

“Probably,” Rossi replied. “Serial killers like to watch the crime scenes, admire their handiwork from afar.”

“If he or she is part of the surrounding neighborhood, it would be easy for him or her to blend in.”

The agents got in their car, heading back to the Roseville Police Headquarters. They drove past the crowd of onlookers, one of whom could possibly be their killer.

_______________________________________

Back at police headquarters, the agents gathered in the conference room and pooled the information they had gotten since their arrival. Photos of the crime scene and of the victims had been put up on a board next to the table inside the conference room.

“The unsub being female is a definite possibility,” Reid said, “but how did she know Kenney or Sherman?”

“Well, Sherman was a convenience store owner slash hit man,” Morgan said. “Maybe he was hired by the unsub, then she killed him after having second thoughts.”

“Or maybe she was the intended victim,” Kate said, “and she got the drop on him.”

“And what about Robert Kenney?” Rossi asked.

“We’ll find out tomorrow,” Hotchner said. “I’ve been in contact with the Sacramento field office. Kenney was involved in a fraud and embezzlement case as one of the conspirators. An agent is coming by tomorrow to fill us in.”

“That’s well and good,” Rossi said. “But how does framing a high school student fit in to all this?”

“It sounds like a practical joke to me,” Morgan said. “And not a very funny one at that.”

“I’ve prepared a press statement,” J.J. said. In addition to being a profiler, she used to be the unit’s media liaison, a role she called upon for moments like this. She recited, “’Karl Browning has been cleared of any and all wrongdoing, and we will remind the public that only legitimate tips from the public about the case will be taken seriously.’”

“Sounds good,” Hotchner said.

It was close to six p.m. J.J.’s press statement went out to the local media via an impromptu press conference outside police headquarters. On the TV news all over the Sacramento area that night, J.J. was seen addressing reporters outside the police headquarters. 

“The FBI is here to assist the local police with their investigations into these murders,” she said to the reporters. “The investigation is in its early stages and we are going over the evidence in these crimes.”

A reporter asked about the arrest that afternoon. J.J. went right to the point.

“There was an arrest earlier today, but we have determined that the person had nothing to do with the crime and he has since been released,” she said to the reporters. “In fact, we believe that person was the victim of a cruel prank. We ask that anyone who calls the police tip line, do so with pertinent information, and not use it for practical jokes and pranks.”

The unsub was one of many people who watched the report on television from their home.

_“How can they do that to him? Why? He’s done nothing wrong….I have make things right. No one else will…,_

_“I love him….I love Bobby Blue.”_


	4. Chapter 4

GRANITE BAY HIGH SCHOOL

Even though his father said he didn’t have to go to school today, Karl Browning wanted to. So, there he was, as he entered Granite Bay High School. 

Immediately, all eyes were on him. Some out of curiosity, some out of contempt. All of them had their minds made up. Karl had something to do with Shauna Lanville’s murder, if not committed it outright. 

He went to his first class of the day, and tried to concentrate, knowing that everyone was burning their eyes into him. It was hard to say the least.

In the hallways between classes, the other students looked at Karl, his guilt or involvement already decided. It didn’t matter if the FBI and the local police had already declared him innocent on the news last night; he was guilty, and nothing was going to sway their opinion. This was high school, and what was declared, whether it be true or not, was law.

Of course, not everyone probably felt that way about him. There were a couple of classmates who thought he was the victim of a raw deal. But they weren’t going to say so. Not if they wanted their social status to stay intact, much less their teeth.

In his next class, there was an announcement over the public address system. Grief counselors would be in the school today, and students would be encouraged to talk to them to get their feelings out.

A few minutes later, there was another announcement. FBI agents would also be in school later, also to ask about Shauna Lanville. Again, students would be encouraged to talk to them as well.

Maybe he would talk to them, maybe not. Karl felt no matter what he did or said, people would still think he had something to do with Shauna’s murder. 

He was walking to his third period class when the only person in school who believed he was completely innocent saw him. That person didn’t talk to him, just watched from a distance as he walked on by.

This isn’t fair. I’ll make it right, no matter what. You had nothing to do with killing Shauna. 

I killed her. I killed for you. 

Why? Because, I love you Bobby Blue.

__________________________________________

That morning at the Roseville Police Headquarters, the agents made a plan for the day. 

An agent from the Sacramento FBI field office would be coming in to discuss how their case might be linked to a fraud and embezzlement case with Hotchner and Rossi. The other agents would head to Granite Bay High School, along with Detective Harland, and speak to students to find out more about what happened to Shauna Lanville.

Morgan, J.J., Reid, and Kate, along with detective Harland, departed for Granite Bay High School. A few minutes later, agent Henry Marlowe from the Sacramento FBI field office arrived at the Roseville police station.

“Glad you can meet with us,” Hotchner said to Marlowe. “What can you tell us about this embezzlement case that you’re working on?” They were in the conference room.

“There’s not much to it actually,” Marlowe said. “There was a hedge fund firm, Capital City Investments, that had over twenty million dollars from their investors. And a few of their money managers decided it would be a good idea to loot the fund, head to a tax haven like the Caymans, and leave someone behind holding the bag. But someone talked and the White-Collar division from Los Angeles came up and busted them all.”

“So how does your case get involved with our case?” Rossi asked.

“Robert Kenney,” Marlowe replied. “He was a personal trainer who was also sleeping with the ringleader of the scam, Ann Foster. She was apprehended at San Francisco International with her share of the twenty million, along with her son and Kenney. We had no charges pending against Kenney, but we did revoke his passport just in case. He had no where to go except around town.”

“And what happened to the rest of the people involved?” Hotchner asked.

“They were arrested, arraigned, and currently either out on bond or sitting in jail awaiting trial,” Marlowe said. “Their passports were revoked as well. Foster is in lockup awaiting trial. Most of the people who invested got their money back.”

“Still sounds like they’re headed to Club Fed,” Rossi said, referring to what was a minimum-security prison.

“They would be the case if Mrs. Foster hadn’t hired a hit man,” Marlowe said back. “After she was arrested, she found out who talked to us. It was one of the executive managers, Ken Browning. They planned on leaving him as the fall guy.”

Rossi and Hotchner looked at each other. His son Karl was the victim of an arrest/practical joke at someone else’s hand. It sounded like to them that this was some kind of payback at the father.

Marlowe continued, “Anyway, she managed to get hold of a hit man to get rid of Browning, but someone else squealed, and told us who the hit man was. We went to arrest the hit man and found him dead.”

“Matt Sherman,” Hotchner guessed.

“It was,” Marlowe replied. 

“So, our unsub found out the hit man was Sherman, and took him out,” Rossi surmised.

“So, these people are all in jail,” said Hotchner, “and someone starts killing some of the people involved, while someone else decides to play a practical joke on an innocent person.”

“So how does a dead high school girl figure in all this?” Marlowe asked.

“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Hotchner replied.

_______________________________________

Morgan, J.J., Reid, and Kate, arrived at Granite Bay High School with Harland. J.J. had called ahead to let the principal know they would be coming. As they approached the school, Rossi called them to let them know what they had learned from agent Marlowe.

“Nice school,” Kate remarked about the modern style building and campus.

“Folsom Lake is a couple of miles away,” Harland pointed out. “This was prime real estate back in the day. Next thing you know, the greater Sacramento area is expanding and voila, a new neighborhood next to a lake. Granted, the lake is a bit low because of the drought but a lake is a lake.”

They entered the school and met with the principal. Grief counselors had been assigned to the school to talk with students about what happened.

“We’d like to talk with the students and see if they might know anything about what happened to Shauna,” J.J. said to the principal. The principal agreed and gave them the okay to talk with the students.

The principal made an announcement over the public address system that law enforcement officials would like to speak with the students, and that the students can come forward with anonymity.

Within an hour, a number of students came forward to speak with the agents. They ranged from the jocks, the cheerleaders, the goths, the geeks, and so on. 

They were all interviewed separately by the agents, but they all seem to agree on one thing – Karl Browning did it or was somehow involved. They didn’t care if he had been cleared; their minds had been made up.

It was close to lunch hour when another student came in. Her name was Michelle Watkins, a brunette haired girl with blue eyes, and she was being interviewed by both J.J. and Kate.

“I knew Shauna,” Michelle said to them. “She was a cheerleader and on the honor roll. I can’t believe anyone would do this.”

“Do you know anyone who might have wanted to do this?” Kate asked.

“No,” Michelle replied. “She was a nice person, got along with everyone.” Then she said, “Well, she wasn’t exactly nice to Karl Browning. Then again, nobody was.”

“Really?” said J.J. “How so?”

“Everyone’s blaming him for what happened,” Michelle said. “It’s not his fault all those people got busted.”

“Capital City Investments?” asked Kate. “From what I understand, most of their clients got their money back.”

“That’s true,” Michelle said. “But their kids still didn’t like Karl for what his father did. They should be grateful. Instead, they still hate him but to admit that his father did the right thing would be like kissing his ass, and they don’t want to do that either. I don’t understand why.”

“Are you a friend of his?” J.J. asked. “Do you talk to him?”

“Not really, on either count,” Michelle replied. “Our fathers know each other, that’s all.”

While J.J. and Kate were talking with Michelle, Reid and Morgan were talking with Freida Van Houten. She was a curly haired blonde with blue eyes, a cheerleader for the school.

“Shauna was nice to me,” Freida said to them. “Everyone loved her.”

“Not everyone apparently,” Morgan said.

“Obviously, but I don’t know who would do this. I know people here are saying it was Karl, but it wasn’t him. They’re just upset and looking for a scapegoat.”

“Why does everybody hate Karl Browning so much?” Reid asked. “It can’t just be for what his father did?”

“Considering some of the kids’ parents here went to jail,” Freida said, “it’s enough. From what I understand, Karl wasn’t exactly well liked to begin with, and with what’s going on now, it’s not helping.”

“Sounds like you’re a friend,” Morgan pointed out.

Freida shrugged. “I have a couple of classes with him,” she said. “Nothing more. I don’t hate him, we’re just in different social circles, that’s all.”

They talked a little more, before Freida excused herself. It was now lunch time at Granite Bay High School. The agents watched as the students moved through the hallways to either their next classes or the lunch room.

“Do you think one of these kids is our unsub?” Morgan asked Kate.

“It’s possible,” she replied. “But which one?”


	5. Chapter 5

It was now the lunch hour at Granite Bay High School. Students gathered inside the cafeteria/ commons area, quickly occupying the tables in groups to talk over the day so far.  
All the tables were full in the first five minutes. All but one. There, Karl Browning sat their alone, and not by choice. No one noticed he was alone, much less cared.

But one person did. 

Michelle Watkins saw him, and began to walk towards the table. She was about twenty feet away when someone stepped right in front of her.

“Where do you think you’re going?” the person demanded.

Michelle looked up at the person blocking her way. It was Cade Foster, Granite Bay’s self-appointed big man on campus.

“Looking for a place to sit,” she said back to him.

“You can’t sit with him,” Cade warned.

“Why not?”

“Because I said so.” Cade then smiled like a snake. “But you can sit with me.”

“No thanks,” Michelle said. “I just lost my appetite.” She turned to walk away, but Cade grabbed her by the shoulder.

“Let go!” Michelle demanded. 

“You heard the lady, let her go.” J.J. walked up to them.

Cade looked at J.J. “Says who?”

Keeping her eyes on Cade, J.J. pulled back part of her blazer around her waist to reveal her FBI badge clipped on her belt. Cade let Michelle go, and she walked off.

“Thank you,” J.J. said to him. Cade gave J.J. a dirty look and walked off as well, just as Reid came over to her.

“What was that all about?” he asked.

“Someone who didn’t want to take no for an answer,” J.J. replied. She nodded over in Karl Browning’s direction. “I guess it was about him.”

“That’s Karl Browning,” Reid noted. Seeing him reminded of what he went through as a twelve-year old genius in a Las Vegas public high school. He went over to him.

“Hi Karl,” he said to him. Karl looked up.

“Hi,” he said back, as Reid sat down across from him at the table. “Who are you?” Reid introduced himself to Karl. 

“So, the FBI wants to sit with me,” Karl said. “You’re not making me look good by sitting here.”

“Just thought you could use the company,” Reid said. “Looks like you need all the friends you can get.”

“I do,” Karl said. “But after what happened with my dad, nobody wants to be around me.”

“Hey what he did, good or bad, shouldn’t reflect on you,” Reid said, “and after last I checked, what he did wasn’t all that bad.”

“Tell that to the kids whose parents got thrown in jail,” Karl said. “Some of them go here. Cade Foster’s mom, both of Lisa Weston’s parents. They don’t care if it was well deserved. They just want to blame me for everything.” He then said, “I’m guessing one of them called the cops to say I killed Shauna.”

“What was Shauna’s parents attitude towards you?”

Karl shrugged. “If you ask them, her parents probably didn’t like me. I think all their parents believe the worst about me.” He looked down. “And they’re probably right.”

“You’re wrong,” Reid said. “You’re not to blame for anything that happened. Shauna was killed by someone connected to the embezzlement and it’s not you.”

“Wish they could believe that.”

“Believe it. You’re a good person. You have to fight through all the negativity in life to find success, happiness, satisfaction.”

Karl looked at Reid. “And have you found it?”

“I fight through it every day,” Reid said. “If I make it to the end of the day and believe I made a difference that day, I have.”

_____________________________________

During the lunch break, Morgan was on the phone with Hotch and was updating what they had learned at the high school. J.J. also used the time to call her husband Will back in Washington DC and talk to him and her son Henry.

Kate went to the girls’ restroom. After she was done, she came out of the stall, as there were some other girls in the restroom. Upon seeing her, the girls stopped, then quickly left the restroom. The sight of a federal agent was making them nervous. All except two.

One was Freida Van Houten. The other girl, another blonde with brown eyes, and high-end clothes, Kate didn’t recognize. The two girls were busy arguing with each other.

“What the hell were you doing talking to them?” the other girl demanded, ignoring Kate’s presence.

“Exactly that, talking to them,” Freida said back. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Everything!” the other girl snapped. 

“Don’t worry, I didn’t mention your name. Then again, maybe I should have!”

Kate suddenly asked, “And her name is?”

Freida looked at Kate, then back at the other girl. “Lisa Weston,” she replied.

Lisa Weston gave Kate a dirty look that she hadn’t seen since her days in high school. 

“Feel like discussing your feelings?” Kate sarcastically asked. 

Lisa replied “Hell, no,” then stalked out of the ladies’ room.

“That’s so nice to know,” Kate said sarcastically. She looked over to Freida. “What’s her problem?”

“She didn’t like the idea of me talking to you agents about Karl,” she replied, “especially in positive terms. She thinks the only time anyone should talk about or to Karl is….never.”

“I understand her mom got busted in the Capital City Investments scandal,” Kate said.

“She did,” Freida replied. “She got caught with a couple of million dollars in her suitcase at the Sacramento Airport.”

“She was going to leave without her daughter?”

“No, from what I understand, Lisa was going to join her parents later. She had a plane ticket for a later date, but that went down the drain as well. A few other kids whose parents got busted, they got transferred out and went to other schools. Other kids, they all blame Karl for what happened. It’s easier for them.”

“Has anyone tried to be nice to him?” 

“A couple of times, but nothing came of it. They just don’t like him. Period.”

_________________________________________________

The unsub opened up to the comics section of that day’s edition of the Sacramento Bee. Quickly, the unsub went to the Bobby Blue comic strip.

Bobby Blue was with his friend Matty May when they saw…her.

_“Look Matty, it’s her!”_

_“Who?” Matty asked._

_“The little blue eyed girl. She’s so pretty.”_

_“Why don’t you go up to her and say hi?”_

_“It’s not that simple.”_

_“What do you mean, it’s not that simple?” Matty asked. “How hard it is to say ‘Hi’ to a girl?”_

_“When it comes to boys and girls, the easiest thing to do is the most hardest thing to do.”_

The unsub closed the newspaper page. 

_It’s not fair. I know you like me, and I like you. I’ll show them. They can’t keep you down forever. They can’t keep us apart. We belong together._

_They can’t keep us apart. I won’t let them._

The unsub saw Karl Browning in the distance. Classes were done for the day at Granite Bay High School, and the FBI agents that were there earlier had departed. He walked through the crowd of people, all of whom seemed to ignore him.

_It’s not fair what they do to you. You’re a good man, Bobby Blue….Soon we’ll be together and no one will keep us apart._

_Because I love you Bobby Blue._


	6. Chapter 6

As Hotchner drove the SUV to their destination, Rossi got a text from Morgan that they were done at Granite Bay High School and were headed back to the Roseville police headquarters.

Hotchner and Rossi were headed to Rancho Cordova, a suburban neighborhood of Sacramento, where Lee Blanchet, the creator of the Bobby Blue comic strip, and his wife Sally lived.

They pulled up the SUV to a white painted, ranch style house overlooking the American River on some acreage. A Honda CR-V and a Buick Century were parked in the driveway. In front of the house, a lively woman in her fifties was tending to some roses on the lawn.

Hotchner and Rossi walked up to the house. The woman looked up and saw them. “May I help you?” she asked.

“Sally Blanchet,” Hotchner said, as the agents showed her their identifications, “we’d like to speak with your husband, Lee Blanchet.”

“He’s in his study,” Sally Blanchet answered. She led them inside her home and to her husband’s study.

Dressed in a polo shirt and slacks, Lee Blanchet was at his drafting desk, creating his next Bobby Blue comic strip for the newspapers. He had brown hair going gray, and had a pair of glasses perched on his nose. The desk was in the center of the room, with a bookcase along one wall and another table with an assortment of papers and a wireless phone on it. On the walls themselves, were posters of other comic strip creations. Bloom County, Garfield, Shoe, B.C., and Wee Pals. There was also a poster of Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants at the plate during the 2012 World Series. There was a box on the floor next to the drafting desk.

“Lee, these men would like to speak with you,” Sally said to her husband. The agents introduced themselves to Blanchet, as his wife left the study.

“So, what can I do for the FBI?” Lee Blanchet asked them.

“We’re investigating a series of murders in the Roseville area,” Hotchner replied, “and it may have something to do with your comic strip.”

“How is that so?” Blanchet asked. Hotchner gave a quick rundown of the murders and how clips of his comic strip were found with each of the victims. “Really?” Blanchet said with concern in his voice. “I’m so glad I didn’t place my money in Capital City Investments. They pitched an offer for me, but I passed on it.”

“What makes your comic strip so different than the others?” Rossi asked.

“Don’t you mean why did a psychotic killer choose my comic strip?” Blanchet returned. “I don’t know why? It’s not like I have a stalker following me every day.”

“In a way, our unsub could be obsessed with your work, and possibly even you,” Hotchner said. “What makes Bobby Blue stand apart from other comic strips?”

“Nothing special,” Blanchet replied. “Bobby Blue is just a ten-year old boy going through life, trying to make sense of it all, along with his friends. He just wants to be happy and is always looking for that happiness. He tries and fails, but keeps on trying.”

“Not exactly a positive for kids to read,” Hotchner said.

“But he always gets back up and perseveres,” Blanchet said back. “The humor of the strip come his failings. The inspiration comes from his perseverance and determination to succeed, no matter what.” He stepped back from his desk. “The current strip in the papers is about him and this female character known as the Little Blue-Eyed Girl. I put her in every once in a while. She is the object of Bobby Blue’s affections, though we never see her. He is in love with her but can’t seem to get close to her because of his insecurity and lack of confidence, or because someone else gets in the way.” 

“Unrequited love,” Hotchner remarked.

“Are you the inspiration for Bobby Blue?” Rossi asked. “I mean, do you base Bobby Blue on your own life, what happened to you when you were younger?”

“I’ll admit,” Blanchet said, “some of Bobby Blue is me. My childhood was no better, no worse than any others.”

“And the Blue Eyed Girl?” Hotchner asked.

“Childhood crush,” Blanchet replied. “She knows all about it, and she’s fine with it. She’s married and has a family in Milwaukee.”

“There might be someone who thinks Bobby Blue might be based on someone real in the Sacramento area,” Hotchner pointed out.

“It’s just a comic strip, a cartoon character,” Blanchet insisted. “My comic strip is to entertain children and have them think and laugh.”

“Whoever our unsub is,” Rossi said, “they may not share your sense of humor as failing being funny.”

“I don’t know what else to tell you,” Blanchet said. “I’m sorry if that person feels that way, but it’s a comic strip. Nothing more.”

“By the way,” Rossi said, “do you know a young man by the name of Karl Browning?” 

“Sorry, no.”

Hotchner figured that was all they were going to get from Blanchet. He was not under any threat from the unsub for now, if the unsub knew him at all.

“Thank you for your time,” Hotchner said. 

“You’re welcome,” Blanchet said. “Wait a minute, do you either of you have kids?”

“I have a son, Jack,” Hotchner replied. “He’s nine years old.”

Blanchet picked up the box next to his desk and placed it on top. “This is my latest compilation book,” he said. Blanchet took out a paperback book and opened it up to the first page. “What’s your son’s name?”

“Jack,” Hotchner replied. Blanchet autographed the page, and handed the book to Hotchner. “Thank you,” the agent said. The compilation book was entitled “Always Be True, Bobby Blue.”

“These are for a book signing I’m doing later this afternoon at the Barnes and Noble in Roseville, around 4:30,” Blanchet said. “What about you, agent Rossi?”

“No kids,” Rossi replied. “But two of our agents are working moms.” Blanchet then signed two more books, one for Kate’s niece Meg, the other for J.J.’s son Henry.

“There you go,” Blanchet said. 

“Thanks,” Rossi said. “If we need to talk to you again, we’ll be in touch.” Rossi gave him a business card with his cell phone number on it. The two agents left the house, said their goodbyes to Mrs. Blanchet, and drove off, heading back to Roseville.

___________________________________________

Back at police headquarters, the agents combined what they had learned about the victims and looked over the evidence. Rossi also gave Kate and J.J. their signed copies of the Bobby Blue comic compilation.

The comic strips that had been left at the scene of each of the murders were reviewed by Reid. The first strip, found at the Kenney crime scene, detailed how Bobby Blue was blamed for losing a baseball game by dropping a fly ball that dropped out of his glove after he caught it. The second strip, from a Sunday newspaper, found at the Sherman crime scene, was about him being unable to physically defend a classmate due to his insecurity, only to see his only friend to rise to the occasion.

The third strip, found at Shauna Lanville’s home near her body, had Bobby Blue finding out it was random chance that had seemingly doomed him to perpetual bad luck.

“If it wasn’t for bad luck, he’d have no luck at all,” Reid commented.

“You think Blanchet would have Bobby Blue experience happiness once in a while,” J.J. added.

“Blanchet said the strip’s humor comes from his failures,” Rossi explained. 

“It’s funny unless you’re the one who’s doing all the failing,” Morgan said. “Maybe someone is sick of seeing him fail, or at least the perception that he’s a failure. And that could lead our unsub to believe Karl is somehow linked to Bobby Blue.”

“Maybe the unsub thinks Karl is the inspiration for Bobby Blue,” Reid said, “and that’s what triggered the unsub.”

“Our unsub could be a female as well,” Callahan said. “Someone who was close friends with Shauna Lanville. Possibly a fellow student.”

Hotchner looked at the evidence board, with the crime scene photos and victims.

He turned to look at the agents. “I’ll visit with the Browning family tonight,” he said to them. Hotchner then looked at Kate and J.J. “Lee Blanchet is doing a book signing later at the Barnes and Noble in town,” he said to them. “Keep an eye on him. Our unsub might be stalking him, and might try to come in contact with him.”

Kate nodded. “I’ll thank him for the book,” she said.


	7. Chapter 7

The Barnes and Noble bookstore at the Creekside Town Center was busy that afternoon. School was out for the day, while others had stopped there after work to chill and relax, as well as wait out rush hour traffic, before headed home.

Inside the bookstore, a table had been set up for Lee Blanchet, with a stack of his compilation of Bobby Blue comic strips, “Always Be True Bobby Blue.” He signed the books for parents who brought their children with them, and who loved his comic strip.

From a safe distance, both J.J. and Kate watched as Blanchet signed his book for fans of the Bobby Blue comic strip, looking for a possible unsub stalking him.

“So you think our unsub is female?” J.J. asked Kate. “Could she be a juvenile as well?”

“She could be,” Kate replied. “But why is she doing this? Who is Bobby Blue to her?”

“Trying to determine the identity of an unsub is like a jigsaw puzzle,” J.J. pointed out, “but there a few pieces missing. When you put the puzzle together, you see what’s missing. But from there, you look into the unsub’s behavior, his reasoning, his victimology, his stressor, and you’ll see what will fit in the places that are missing.”

J.J. and Kate continued their surveillance, as they talked about their family lives. J.J.’s son Henry was playing soccer and J.J. hoped to wrap up the case before their next match, while Kate’s niece Meg, who she had taken care of since her parents died on 9/11, was growing up faster each day.

A few minutes later, the two agents saw a familiar face coming up to Blanchet’s table.

“I wonder what she’s doing here?” Kate asked. 

Michelle Watkins, the student that Kate had talked to at Granite Bay High School earlier, came up to Blanchet’s table. Michelle asked for a copy of his book.

“Of course,” Lee Blanchet replied. “Who can I sign this for?”

“Michelle,” she replied. Blanchet signed the book and handed it to her. “Thank you.” Then Michelle said, “Just wondering, when are you going to have something good happen to Bobby Blue?”

Blanchet looked up at Michelle. “Something is always good happening to Bobby Blue,” he replied. “Believe it or not, even though he fails, he learns to persevere. He keeps going.”

“But you never have him succeed,” Michelle said back.

“In some way, he does succeed,” Blanchet countered. “He tries and does things that most other characters in the strip won’t try. And even when he falls short, some of the characters laud him for trying his best.”

“And the others don’t. Why?”

“It’s called life.”

“Well, I hope you have Bobby Blue finally succeed,” Michelle said somewhat dejectedly. “Thanks for the book.”

“You’re welcome.”

Kate watched as Michelle turned to leave. But she had gotten no more than a few steps when someone came up to her and blocked her way.

“Hi Michelle,” Cade Foster said to her. “What are you doing here?”

“Cade,” she said back. “Just doing a little retail therapy.”

“Hey about today,” he said, “sorry if I came on too strong. But you know no one likes him, especially after what he did.”

Michelle just gave him this look and said, “That’s crap.” Her response took Cade by surprise. “Karl didn’t do anything. His dad did all that, and everyone got their money back.”

“And my mom is in jail!”

“Well maybe if she didn’t try to steal all that money to begin with and hire that hit man, she wouldn’t be in jail!”

“C’mon Michelle,” Cade said, “let’s not fight about this. Let’s go.” He tried to take Michelle by the hand, but she pulled away. “Michelle!” 

Kate walked up to them. “Hi Michelle,” she said to her. “How are you doing? Remember me, I’m Kate, with the FBI? We talked earlier today.” Kate glanced not-so-casually at Cade.

Apparently, Cade got the hint. “I’ll see you later, Michelle,” he said, and for the second time today, left because of an FBI agent.

“Thanks,” Michelle said to Kate. 

“You’re welcome,” she said back, as J.J. joined them. “You like his comic strip?”

“I think its cute,” Michelle said back. “But I do think that the author can have something good happen to him once in a while.”

“Maybe one day,” J.J. said. 

“Thanks again.”

Michelle said to them thanks and bid them goodbye. J.J. and Kate watched the remainder of the book signing, without incident of any kind.

When the signing was over, the agents watched as Blanchet thanked the bookstore manager for having him over. The comic strip artist then came unexpectedly over to the agents.

“I noticed you two were watching me the whole time,” he said to them. “Are you fans?” 

Kate and J.J. each took out and showed him their FBI identification. 

“Oh, I see,” Blanchet said. “I talked to agents Hotchner and Rossi earlier today. Do I have a stalker following me or something like that?”

“Something like that,” J.J. replied. “We didn’t notice anyone in particular.”

“That one girl did ask you about Bobby Blue’s character,” Kate pointed out. “Any plans about the character in the future?”

“I always get that question about Bobby Blue from fans,” Blanchet said. “Will anything good happen to him? It may not look like it, but good things happen to him. If you look real close, he succeeds just by attempting to do things. Even when he falls short, the fact that he attempted it all says a lot. He keeps on keeping on.”

J.J. said, “Still, Bobby Blue definitely deserves a happy ending.”

“Maybe one day. Just not now. Well, thanks for watching over me.” He said goodbye and left the book store. J.J. called Hotch on her cell phone and gave him an update. Then she called Garcia up back in Quantico.

“What’s up my pretties?” Garcia asked.

“Background check on Cade Foster, student at Granite Bay High School,” J.J. said. “His mom was the ringleader of the embezzlers. I like to know how much he was involved with the embezzlement since he was going to take off with his mom to the Caymans.”

“Will do,” Garcia said back. “I’m guessing he was kind of upset that he didn’t get to spend the rest of school in the tropics with all that money.”

“I guess so too.”

___________________________________________ 

Outside the mall, Michelle Watkins walked back to her car, a late model silver Honda, with her Bobby Blue book. As she headed to her car, she saw Cade Foster walk out of the Starbucks across from the Barnes and Noble. He was with another person, someone older. That person looked like he was in his thirties, with dark black hair and a thinly trimmed beard. 

Cade and the other man shook hands, and the two went their separate ways.

Michelle heard her cell phone beep. She took it out of her pocket as walked to her car and recognized the number.

“Michelle?”

“Hey dad.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m at Creekside. I’ll be home in fifteen to twenty.”

________________________________________________

Karl Browning had been inside his home since coming home from school. It was about five-thirty in the afternoon when he decided to go outside and face the cold cruel world that had blamed him for everything wrong that was happening.

The sun was setting in the west, as Karl walked out on to the lawn and took a deep breath, then sighed. That was enough.

“Hey Karl, are you all right?” Karl turned around and saw his father Ken approaching him.

“I’m fine Dad,” he replied. “Everybody still hates me.”

“Don’t say things like that. I should be the one saying that.”

“Well, they find it easier to hate me. They see me, not you.”

“Son, you’re not to blame. If they have a problem with me, they should come after me, not you. I’m the one who talked, not you.”

“Well, I guess I just make an easy target.”

Karl turned back to face the street out in front of the house. A late model silver Honda slowly drove by, the drive casually looking over.

“Who was that?” Ken Browning asked.

“That was Michelle Watkins,” his son replied.

“Michelle? Fred’s daughter?” Ken Browning waved to her.

“You know about her?”

“I work with Fred. You know, I’m not the only one who turned evidence against Ann Foster.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“So what’s the deal between you and her?”

“Nothing. I just know her, that’s all.”

“You must really like her.”

Karl didn’t answer. “A girl like that, I doubt she even cares about me.”

“C’mon Karl, dinner’s ready,” Ken Browning said. “We got visitors later tonight.”


	8. Chapter 8

“Here’s the skinny on Cade Foster,” Garcia said from her computer office back in Quantico. “Seventeen years old, senior at Granite Bay, three-point-five grade point average. Was caught with his mother and our first victim, Robert Kinney, at the airport with everyone else’s money. No charges were brought against him.”

“Who is he living with now?” J.J. asked. The agents were back in the conference room at Roseville Police Headquarters.

“His father, Don Foster,” Garcia replied. “Apparently, his wife’s one way trip to the Caymans with her boyfriend was her way of saying ‘I want a divorce.’”

“Now Cade has to go to the same school with the kid whose father put his mother behind bars,” Callahan said. “From what me and J.J. saw, he’s not too happy about it.”

“I heard there was another who testified against Ann Foster,” J.J. said.

“Let me check,” Garcia said as she worked her computer magic, bringing up the case file on the Capital City fraud. Yes, Fred Watkins also testified against Ann Foster. Apparently, he told the cops about the hit man she hired to take out Ken Browning. Watkins is now temporary head of Capital City Investments.”

“Watkins? Would that be Michelle’s father?” Kate asked.

“Most likely,” J.J. replied.

“We’ll find out more tonight,” Hotchner said. “Me and Dave are going to visit the Browning family after dinner.”

______________________________________

Hotchner and Rossi arrived at the Browning residence just after seven-thirty that evening, as the sun was setting on the Sacramento area. The Brownings had just finished dinner, and now they were all sitting in the living room with the agents. The living room’s window faced the street.

There was Ken, and his wife Helen, along with oldest son Karl and their twelve-year old daughter Tracy.

“I know you made it clear my son had nothing to do with Shauna Lanville’s death,” Ken Browning said to the agents. “We all saw the news report that your agent gave. The Lanvilles did call us up and told us they believed that Karl was innocent.”

“But some people have called us,” Helen Browning pointed out, “and they let us know they still think Karl had something to do with it.”

“They’re probably friends with Ann Foster or her son,” Browning grumbled. “I think he made that call to the police.”

“What’s important here is that we find out who’s committing these murders,” Hotchner said.

“I think its important to convince everyone my son didn’t do it,” Browning said back.

“I agree. So, do you have any idea who wanted these people dead?”

“The only ones who I can think of are the people that Ann Foster and her friends tried to rip off,” Browning said. “But they got all their money back. Most of them did anyway.”

“And those who didn’t?” asked Rossi.

“They should be mad at her, not me,” Browning said. “I didn’t rip them off. And if they’re mad at me even though I got their money back, then they’re all a bunch of ingrates.”

Helen Browning asked, “Are you sure these murders have something to do with Capital City Investments? What if it’s something else entirely?”

“That thought has crossed our minds,” Hotchner replied. “But who, and more importantly, why?”

“I like to know why too,” Karl said to them.

“This is not your fault,” Rossi said to Karl.

“Everyone at school seems to think it is,” Karl said back. “And it’s not just what my dad did, it’s everything. Ever since I could remember, people look at me and blame me for everything. Capital City, the drought in California, smog, why the Sacramento Kings are crap – “

“That’s enough, Karl,” his father said. “None of this is your fault, no matter what anyone says.”

“Then why aren’t you taking crap for this, and I am?”

“Sins of the father,” quipped Rossi.

“That’s unfair,” Browning said to Rossi.

“I agree. You shouldn’t be blamed for any of this either. You did what you thought was right. I’m guessing it was the hardest thing for you to do.”

“There was no question about it,” Browning said. “I did the right thing. She was about to rip off a bunch of people and I just couldn’t let her do that.”

“In a way, maybe her being in jail is good for her,” Hotchner said. “If our unsub is targeting those involved in the embezzlement, she’s in a safe place.”

“Then why did that person target Shauna Lanville?” Helen Browning asked. “Her parents had nothing to do with Capital City.”

“How well did you know the Lanvilles?” Rossi asked.

“No more, no less,” Ken Browning replied. “Like I said, they don’t blame Karl for Shauna’s death. The parents in the neighborhood have been mostly civil to us. But there’s some people who hate us just because. No reason, just because. It was like that before the Capital City case.”

“What about you Karl?” Hotchner asked. “How well did you know Shauna?”

“Well enough to know she didn’t like me,” Karl replied. “The only time she talked to me was to tell me she thought I was a loser.”

“What about Robert Kinney and Matt Sherman? How well did you know them?”

“Sherman, I saw when I went to his convenience store,” Karl replied. “I never said anything to him. He looked at me as if I was trying to steal something. Kinney, I know he was Mrs. Foster’s personal trainer, but he was also one of my coaches in Little League. I didn’t exactly endear myself to him. I wasn’t exactly Buster Posey or Brandon Belt.”

“That’s no surprise,” Tracy said. She was sitting down on the sofa next to her mother.

“Oh, be quiet,” Karl said.

“You know this hasn’t been easy for me, either,” Tracy said. “After you got arrested, kids at school were talking. They said you did it, and even if you didn’t, they should bust you anyway.”

“And what about you?” Karl snapped back. “I’ve been getting all this crap, and from what I understand, everyone’s been leaving you alone.”

“That’s enough!” Ken Browning demanded.

“It’s true Dad,” Karl insisted. “I get all this crap, and everyone else feels sorry for Tracy.”

“I said that’s enough!” Browning repeated.

A couple of seconds passed before Hotchner said, “This whole thing hasn’t been easy for you has it?”

“No, it hasn’t,” Browning replied. “For any of us.”

Outside, the sun had finally set on Sacramento, and darkness was slowly enveloping the neighborhood, as the lights began to illuminate the street.

“I’m the one who should be taking the brunt of all this,” Browning insisted, his voice rising in temperament, “not Karl. Not anyone else in my family. If anyone has a problem, they should come to me. I’m the one they should come after – “

The window suddenly shattered, blasted by a round of gunfire.

___________________________________________________

It was close to eight o’clock and already dark at the small strip mall. Cade Foster stepped out of convenience store with his car keys in hand. It was not the store where one of the murder victims, Matt Sherman, worked; he preferred to have gone there, but since Sherman was murdered, he wanted to stay away from there for a while.

His late model Camaro was parked near some trees. He used the keyless remote to unlock the door and got inside the car.

He reached for the seal belt as he looked straight ahead. 

Seemingly, the figure came out of nowhere. It was about twenty feet away, in front of the car. At first, Cade couldn’t see who it was, or if it was a man or a woman. 

The figure raised a hand and pointed it at the car, Cade in particular. He was about to say something when he noticed something in the person’s hand.

He quickly ducked, laying himself across the front seats, as he heard the shots fire. His front windshield cracked with each shot but it didn’t shatter. His hand was on the steering wheel and he quickly hit the car horn.

The blaring of the horn at first mixed in with the gunshots before it drowned it out completely. It was only for a few seconds but it seemed like an eternity before he stopped pressing the horn.

Cade moved and looked over the dashboard of his car. The front windshield was cracking to the point of shattering. He counted four shots through the windshield. Whoever shot at him was gone.

He opened the door and scanned around where he was in the lot. The shooter was definitely gone, as a couple of people came out of the other stores, looking around as to what was going on.

A man ran up to Cade, his cell phone in hand. He asked, “Hey, buddy, are you okay?”

Cade nodded, “I am.” 

“I just called 9-1-1. Did you see who was shooting at you?”

Again, he nodded, trying to compose himself. “I did.”

_______________________________________________

“Is everyone okay?” Hotchner called out.

The Browning family, along with Hotchner and Rossi, were on the living room floor. They had all dove for cover when the shooting started and out of the line of fire. Both agents pulled out their service weapons before the shooting stopped.

“We’re all fine,” Ken Browning responded. 

“Nobody’s hit,” Rossi added.

Hotchner got up but stayed crouched down, holding his Glock 17 service weapon with both hands. The drapes were still partially drawn before the shooting. Part of the window had been blown completely open, as the drapes slightly fluttered. 

“Stay down,” Hotchner ordered, raising his weapon towards the window.

The drapes fluttered open. On the other side of the window, there was a man who raised his hands, holding something in a familiar, not so good way.

Hotchner didn’t hesitate, firing off three shots. The man’s body snapped back and fell out of sight.

Being careful, Hotchner made his way to the front door and opened it. He stepped outside and made his way to the body. The man was flat on his back, sprawled out and dead, courtesy of three bullet holes from Hotchner’s gun. A large automatic weapon was a couple of feet away from him. Hotchner kicked it aside.

Rossi came out of the house, as other people in the neighborhood came out of their houses, wondering what had just happened.

“I think he was a hit man,” Hotchner said, kneeling next to the body.

“I think so, too,” Rossi added. “Browning just called the police.”

Hotchner checked the body for any identification. He found a wallet inside the man’s pants pocket. 

He found a California’s driver’s license. “His name is Frank Polson, thirty years old, from Sacramento.” The man had dark, black hair, and a trimmed beard. There was also a photo with a piece of paper wrapped around it.

The note read: “Him only. If not, his family but let him live.” 

The picture was of Karl Browning.


	9. Chapter 9

“Are you guys okay?” J.J. asked.

The police came within ten minutes of the shooting at the Browning house. J.J. and Kate arrived soon after to find Hotchner and Rossi outside.

The bullets from Polson’s weapon completely shattered the Browning’s front window, and ripped up some of the drapes. Some of the rounds embedded in the far wall of the living room. That was the extent of the damage to the house. 

“We’re fine,” Hotchner replied. He gestured towards the Brownings, who were outside with the others, giving their statements to the police. “They’re rattled but they’re okay too.”

“Any idea who this guy was?” Kate asked.

“Apparently, he was hired to the kill Karl,” Hotchner replied. “Or kill the Brownings but keep Karl alive.”

“Whoever hired him was flexible,” Rossi added.

“So, he’s not our unsub,” Kate said. Then he said, “Because apparently, he struck again just now.”

“How so?” Rossi asked.

“Our unsub went after someone outside a convenience store in town,” J.J. replied, “but he missed. Reid and Morgan are there right now.”

That didn’t seem to placate Hotchner. “That’s all we need, fighting a battle on two fronts,” he said. 

Rossi glanced over at Polson’s dead body. “Well, maybe we’re back to one front now.”

_____________________________________

At the convenience store parking lot, Reid studied the bullet holes in the windshield of Cade Foster’s Camaro. He then looked back at a cluster of trees some feet away.

“Our shooter was standing over there,” Reid said to Morgan, pointing at the cluster of trees. “He was twenty feet away, shooting from cover.”

“But Foster must have seen him,” Morgan said. “He said he ducked when the guy started shooting.” 

“It’s possible Foster recognized his shooter, and didn’t duck right away,” Reid said. “Didn’t perceive him as a threat.”

Both agents walked over to the cluster of trees. They looked down on the ground.

“Tech guys said they dug a couple of .32 caliber slugs out of the car seats,” Morgan said. “See any shell casings?”

“A couple,” Reid replied. “And that’s not all.” He bent down and picked a strip of paper. It was a newspaper clipping of a certain comic strip. “It’s our unsub’s calling card.”

It was a Bobby Blue comic strip. The panels told the story of Bobby Blue, sitting alone, wondering about the character known as the Little Blue Eyed Girl.

“There’s that Little Blue Eyed Girl,” he said. “I wonder is she knows I’m alive…

“I wonder what she thinks if she does know…

“I wonder what can I say to her if I ever get to talk to her….

“I wonder if these internal conversations are a sign that I’m cracking up?”

The agents signaled to a crime scene tech and asked for the comic strip to be put in an evidence bag.

In the meantime, Cade Foster was sitting in an ambulance, getting checked out by paramedics, while being watched over by Detective Harland.

“I’m telling you I’m fine!” he insisted, trying to push away the paramedics. Reid and Morgan went over to the ambulance.

“Are you up for a couple of questions?” Morgan asked.

“I am,” Cade snapped back. “I just want to get out of here.”

“What were you doing here anyway?” Reid asked.

“Just getting a soda and some chips that’s all,” Cade replied. “I got in my car and that’s when he started blasting!”

“So you saw who was shooting at you,” Morgan surmised. “Who was it?”

Cade told them who it was.

Harland, Morgan and Reid looked at him dubiously. Morgan then said, “Seriously?”

____________________________________________

Cade Foster repeated his accusation in the interrogation room in front of Hotchner, Reid, and Rossi, as well as Harland.

“Karl Browning shot at me!” he insisted.

“Are you sure?” Hotchner returned.

“Of course I’m sure!” Cade Foster exclaimed. “Are you going to arrest him or not?”

Hotchner replied emphatically, “No, we’re not.”

Cade Foster looked at Hotchner. Before he could say anything, Hotchner said, “Karl Browning wasn’t shooting at you tonight. It’s impossible, because at the time you say he was shooting at you, Karl and his family were being shot at by someone else. We know this because that person was also shooting at me and agent Rossi.” His voice was rising with every sentence. “So I suggest you start telling the truth. Who shot at you?”

“I am!” Cade exclaimed. He stared hard at the agents. “Karl Browning tried to kill me!”

Reid looked back at Cade. “If you’re trying a mind meld, it’s not working.”

“Who shot at you?” Hotchner demanded, more anger in his voice.

Before Cade could answer, the doors to the interrogation room burst open. In walked a man in a dark suit and tie, dark hair that was thinning, and a look on his face that was about to explode.

“Who are you?” Rossi demanded.

“I’m Don Foster,” the man replied. “Why are you questioning my son?”

“We’re trying to find out who tried to shoot him tonight,” Hotchner replied. “He won’t tell us.”

Don Foster looked at his son. “So, who shot at you?”

“Your son said it was Karl Browning,” Hotchner said. “But he didn’t. We were with the Browning family at the time of the shooting, when somebody else was shooting at Karl and his family.”

“What?” Foster looked at his son again. “Then if it wasn’t Karl, then who was it?”

Cade looked at his father defiantly but it seemed to waning. Finally, he said, “I don’t know.”

“The shooter was twenty feet away from your car,” Reid said. “You didn’t get a good look?”

“I ducked my head so I wouldn’t get it shot off!” Cade insisted. “For all I know, it was Karl.”

“Except it wasn’t,” Don Foster said.

Cade said to his father, “Why are you defending that loser?”

“Why are you trying to frame him?” Rossi asked. “Are you the one who tried to frame him for Shauna Lanville’s murder?”

Cade looked at the agents. His face seemed to lose some of its pallor, but not his defiance, upon hearing that accusation.

“Before you answer, remember, we’re profilers,” Reid said. “We know when someone’s lying.”

Cade looked at the agents, then his father, then back at the agents. “Okay, so I did. I called the cops and told them Karl killed Shauna.” A smug smirk crossed his face. “So what?”

“You think that’s funny?” Don Foster asked.

Cade said, “Has it ever occurred to you that, maybe, he really did kill her?”

Rossi replied, “Has it ever occurred to you that, maybe, you’re full of crap?”

“So if it wasn’t Karl,” Hotchner demanded, “who was it?”

“I don’t know!” Cade said again. “I was too busy trying to stay alive!”

The agents glanced at each other. They knew Cade was lying about Karl shooting at him. They weren’t sure if he was telling the truth about not knowing who did.

“Can I take my son home?” Don Foster asked.

“He can go,” Hotchner said. “But can you stay for a minute or two?”

Cade got up from his chair and walked out of the interrogation room, leaving his father with the agents.

“Am I a suspect?” he asked.

“Why?” Hotchner returned. “Did you want to kill Karl and his family?”

“Of course not. I got nothing against the Brownings.”

“So why does your son hate them so much, especially Karl?”

“I’m guessing it has something to do with the fact he couldn’t go to the Caymans with his mother and has to spend his senior year at home with me. He just never liked Karl for some reason. And after what happened with my wife going to jail, he likes him even less.”

There was a pause, then Rossi said, “You know, if your son had anything to do with happened with the Brownings tonight, we’ll have to arrest him.”

“Do what you have to do, agents,” Foster said. “I know he’s an ass but he’s still my son. What about the guy who tried to kill him?”

Rossi said. “He’s dead.”

Foster exited the room, followed by the agents. Cade was leaning against the wall, facing the detectives’ bullpen. 

Cade started, “Dad – “

“Don’t even!” his father snapped back, pointing a finger in his son’s face. “We’re going!” Father led son, through the bullpen, past all the empty desks. The agents followed them at a distance, as the Fosters approached the exit to the police station. 

Near the front doors, Ken Browning was seated. He saw the Fosters approaching and quickly stood up, facing them.

“Cade!” Browning bellowed. Cade ignored him, walking past him. “Look at me! Dammit, I said look at me!”

“Cade!” his father barked. His son stopped, not turning around, trying his best to ignore Browning.

“Look at me! I’m the one who put your mother behind bars. Me, not Karl! So, if you got something to say, say it to me!”

Cade still wouldn’t turn around. 

“Go ahead, take a swing at me if it’ll make you feel better!”

Finally, Cade slowly turned around to face Ken Browning.

“No thanks,” he said to Browning. “It’s more fun blaming your loser son.”

Browning grabbed Cade with one hand and balled his other hand into a fist. Just as quickly, Hotchner grabbed Browning and pulled him away from Cade.

Cade started to say something, but his father quickly, “Shut up!” and quickly forced him out of the building. Hotchner held back Browning as they left.

“Let me go, I’m fine!” Browning demanded. Hotchner let him go, as Browning let loose a few epithets about Cade.

“You know the first chance he gets at school, he’s going to tell everyone my son tried to kill him,” Browning said. “No matter what the cops say, the kids at school will believe him.”

“Maybe we do a little pre-emptive strike,” Reid suggested. He told Hotchner about his idea, who then called J.J. to arrange a press statement for tomorrow morning.

_____________________________________________

Fred Watkins knocked on his daughter’s bedroom door. “Michelle, are you busy?”

“I’m fine dad.”

“Can I come in?”

“Sure.”

Watkins opened the door. His daughter Michelle was on her bed, sitting up, as she looked at her cell phone.

“Dad! I just got a text from Freida Van Houten. She said someone shot up Karl Browning’s house!”

“The Brownings? Are they okay?”

“From what she said, they’re all okay. The guy who shot at them got killed by the cops.”

“My god, I better call them to see if they need anything.”

“Okay dad.” Her father left the room.

Michelle’s cell phone beeped with another incoming text. It was from Cade Foster.

_“Just seeing how you’re doing. We need to talk. Tomorrow.”_

After reading the text, Michelle put her phone down. She wanted to call or text Karl but didn’t know his phone number. She decided she would try to talk to Karl at school tomorrow.


	10. Chapter 10

The unsub opened the Sacramento Bee newspaper to the comics section and quickly looked for the Bobby Blue comic strip.

Upon finding it, the unsub read what was happening to Bobby Blue…

_Bobby Blue was walking, thinking to himself. “There she is, the little blue eyed girl. She’s so beautiful. I wonder if she really knows about me.”_

_Lori Lavender came up to him. “Are you looking at that blue eyed girl?”_

_Bobby Blue replied “I am.”_

_“Does she know about you?”_

_“I don’t know. We live in the same town, the same state, the same country, the same planet.”_

_“You can be in the same room alone with her and she’ll never know about you.”_

_“How is that?”_

_“I’ll tell her you don’t exist.”_

The unsub took out a pair of scissors and cut out the comic strip.

___________________________________________

Around eight o’clock in the morning Friday, before classes began at Granite Bay High School, J.J. and detective Harland held court in front of the school. Reid and Morgan were there as well, as the other agents were back at the Roseville police station.

Both J.J. and Harland were in front of both newspaper and TV reporters, as well as some curious students.

From her press release, J.J. announced, “Last night, there were two separate shooting incidents involving students from Granite Bay High School. Both students were not injured in either case. Roseville police and the FBI are investigating both incidents, as it is related to a current joint investigation.”

A reporter asked, “Do we know the name of both students involved?”

J.J. replied, “Usually, we do not give out the names of those involved, especially here since they are considered juvenile. However, we have secured permission from both sets of parents to give out the names.” She paused and said, “Karl Browning and Cade Foster were intended victims of these separate incidents. Both are students here at Granite Bay, and both are physically okay.”

There were some gasps from the students upon hearing the names. One student was heard to say, “They missed Karl. Too bad.”

Morgan and Reid searched the student crowd for the person who said that. Upon finding him, Morgan pointed him out to a school administrator, who then took the student aside and quietly read him the riot act so not to disturb the rest of the press conference.

J.J. and Harland finished up by asking for assistance by coming forward if those present or viewers had any information and contact a tip line to the Roseville Police Department.

_____________________________________

Once again, Karl Browning was in school after another police incident. This time, some of the reaction was different.

There were the looks of some who were upset the shooter missed. But there were others who felt sympathy for him, something that they didn’t know they would feel.  
In between classes, some students asked if he was okay. Karl replied that he was fine; he was scared but was glad the FBI was there. 

“I’m glad to see you’re okay,” Freida Van Houten said to him in the hallway between his second and third period classes. “Any idea who was shooting at you and your family?”

“The cops are looking into that,” Karl replied. “Thanks.” Freida smiled and nodded, and Karl went off to his next class.

He was about to enter his third period history class when someone came up to him that he didn’t expect.

“Karl?”

He turned around, and was completely surprised.

“Michelle?”

“How are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m all right, considering,” he replied.

“Sorry about what happened.”

“Thanks. How about you?”

“I’m okay,” Michelle said. “Anyway, I was wondering – “ Suddenly, she was yanked back by someone.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Cade Foster demanded as he held her back.

“What’s the matter with you?” Michelle snapped back. “I was just talking to him!”

“Not anymore you’re not!” Cade turned his attention towards Karl, who was both confused and scared simultaneously. “You think you can get away with it?”

“Get away with what?” Karl asked back.

“Trying to kill me!”

“He didn’t shoot at you last night!” Michelle said back.

“Yes he did!” Cade insisted.

“You wish!”

“So who was shooting at me?” Karl demanded. “One of your mom’s friends?”

Cade looked at Karl as if someone just killed his dog. His face began to look like it was going to explode like Mount St. Helens. 

He took a step at Karl but Michelle stepped between them. “What’s wrong with you?” she demanded. “He didn’t try to kill you and you know it!”

“So?!” Cade snapped back. “All I have to do is say his name and everyone will believe it!”

“The cops won’t.”

“The hell with the cops!”

“Maybe he’s right,” Michelle said. “One of your mom’s friends tried to kill him, and missed.”

“Bull!” Cade said back.

“Come on, Cade. You know who tried to kill you and it wasn’t Karl!” Michelle stared hard at Cade as she said it.

Cade looked at Michelle, then at Karl, then back at Michelle. “I’ll talk to you later,” Cade said to Michelle, and he walked off.

“Thanks, Michelle,” Karl said to her.

“You’re welcome,” she said back. “You know, I don’t care what anyone else says. You’re not the problem. You’re a good person, Karl.”

“Thank you again.” A small smile crossed Karl’s face, as he turned to go to class. That seemed to make his day, as Michelle watched him go into his next class. She smiled too.

______________________________

Ann Foster sat down next to her lawyer at the table across from Hotchner and Rossi. They were in a conference room inside the Sacramento Federal Building in downtown. Mrs. Foster was there awaiting trial in federal lockup. 

“To what do I owe the honor of speaking with the FBI?” Mrs. Foster asked.

“Just wanted to get to know you,” Rossi replied. 

“Really?” she said back. 

“Plus, we have some news for you,” Rossi said. “Someone tried to kill your son, Cade, last night.”

“What?!” Mrs. Foster exclaimed. “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine,” Hotchner replied. “However, he lied about who tried to kill him. He said it was Karl Browning.”

“Really? Was it him?”

“No,” Hotchner said. “In fact, someone tried to kill Karl and his family last night as well. They failed.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Mrs. Foster said. Though the agents could hear in her voice, that she really wasn’t.

“Wait a minute,” her lawyer suddenly said. The attorney was in his mid-forties, thinning hair, had glasses, and wore an ill-fitting suit that didn’t hide his portly figure. “I don’t like where this is going.”

“We do,” Rossi said back. “We have the hit man in the morgue. We’re running a background check as we speak. If we find out any connection to you – “

“That’s it, we’re done here!” the attorney said abruptly.

Mrs. Foster held up her hand. “It’s okay, Mr. Munroe,” she said to him. Then she said to the agents, “Look all you want, I didn’t hire anyone to kill them.”

“We found instructions on the hitman,” Hotchner said. “He was to kill Karl only. Or leave him alive and take out the rest of the family. Very flexible, this hit man.”

“That should prove that I had nothing to with it,” Mrs. Foster said. 

“We’re done here,” Munroe said again.

“But you only wanted Ken Browning dead, not his son.”

“Though everyone else wants to take it out on his son,” Rossi added. “Especially Cade.”

“I can’t help what people think,” Mrs. Foster said.

“Tell that to your son.”

“Agents, we are done here,” Munroe said more emphatically.

“If you put a hit on Browning, then why not Fred Watkins? After all, he told us about the hitman, and now he’s sitting in your chair at Capital Investments.”

Mrs. Foster replied, “He never said anything.”

Rossi and Hotchner looked at each other. “Like mother, like son,” Hotchner remarked. “She’s in denial as much as he is.”

“What about your boyfriend, Robert Kenney?” Rossi asked.

“What about him?” Mrs. Foster asked back.

“Who killed him? And don’t say Karl Browning.”

“I don’t know who did. He went out to meet someone one night and they found him in a park stabbed to death.”

“What was Robert to Karl Browning?”

“Robert was my personal trainer, and he was a Little League baseball coach,” Mrs. Foster said. “From what he told me, Karl was a lousy baseball player.”

“I bet he was very encouraging to him,” Rossi said sarcastically.

The agents left the interrogation room and headed back to Roseville in the SUV.

“She had nothing to do with it,” Hotchner said. 

“I agree,” Rossi concurred. “But we’ll Garcia do her thing and make sure.”

“You think Cade hired him this time around?”

“If he did, he should get a refund.”


	11. Chapter 11

Classes were done for Friday at Granite Bay High School, and everyone was looking forward to the weekend. As the students headed out, there was still talk about the double shooting the night before, but that was slowly dissipating.

Not quite yet for Cade Foster.

He looked down the hallways, wanting to hit Karl Browning, but he was nowhere to be found. So he looked for an ally. He found Lisa Weston talking to some of her friends in front of her locker.

Cade said to her, “Lisa, got a minute?” 

Lisa’s friends said goodbye, as Lisa asked, “What’s up?”

“We got a problem to fix,” Cade replied.

“Does this have anything to do with you being shot at?”

“It does.”

“Karl did it, right?”

Cade hesitated to answer then said, “Yeah.”

“C’mon Cade, even I don’t like Karl, but it’s obvious he didn’t do it.”

“I don’t care,” Cade said. “I want everyone to know he did it, regardless of what those Feds say.”

“I agree,” she said. “Both of my parents are in jail because of what his dad said. But we have to know who was shooting at you, as well as him and his family.”

Cade looked around nervously, as the number of students began to disappear for the weekend.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Lisa asked.

“I asked my friend to do a job and he got stopped,” Cade said. “How was I to know the feds were there?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lisa said. “So, who was really shooting at you?”

Cade said who was shooting at him.

“Really?” Lisa responded. 

“Can you talk to her?” Cade asked.

“I will,” Lisa replied. “She’ll play ball. Then we can finally get rid of Karl.”

________________________________________________

At that same time, the agents of the Behavioral Analysis Unit delivered a profile of the unsub to the Roseville Police. Detective Harland and various members of the police gathered in the detective’s bullpen to listen to the agents.

“Our unsub is a protector,” Hotchner began, “a bodyguard. We believe this person is committing these murders to protect someone.”

“The person he is protecting has been bullied physically, socially, and psychologically,” Rossi added. “So our unsub has appointed themselves as that person’s protector, a bodyguard, eliminating people he sees as a threat to this person.”

Reid said, “The fact that two of the victims were in high school, is a prime example of this dynamic. As in the case, there is always a bully on the playground who seeks out which ones to physically and psychologically intimidate. In return, our unsub seeks out to protect this person not just from him, but also from adults as well.”

Morgan said, “From what we have gathered, this unsub is very adaptable. This unsub has committed the murders with weapons of opportunity, like a knife, a firearm, and even a candleholder. The victims are also a combination of being targeted and of opportunity.” 

“There’s also the possibility that this person could be a female,” Kate said. “It may be hard to believe, but the victimology suggests that a female may have been responsible for the murder of Shauna Lanville. If so, then there could be a romantic angle towards the person she is protecting.”

J.J. added, “If the unsub is female, it doesn’t seem that the person she is protecting is aware of her. Our unsub may have had feelings for the person for a considerable period of time.”

Detective Harland raised a hand. “How does Capital City Investments fit into all this?”

Hotchner replied. “The victims have been connected to the financial scandal to varying degrees. The unsub, whether it be a he or a she, could be connected to Capital City. We’re still checking connections Capital City with the victims and suspects. It is still a possibility that this whole case may not be related to Capital City.”

“What about the Bobby Blue comic strip?” one of the officers in the room asked.

“Our unsub believes the comic strip character is based on someone real,” Rossi said. “We have talked to the creator of the comic strip and he said the character is not based on anybody in particular. The unsub believes the strip is somehow mirroring real life in some way.”

The agents concluded the presentation of the profile, and went back to the conference room.

“I’m going to head back to the Brownings,” Rossi said, “check out how they’re doing.”

“Mind if I come along?” Kate asked. Rossi nodded.

________________________________________

At Granite Bay High School, Karl Browning was about to cross the street, as the other students went on their way. The rest of the school day had gone without incident, after his confrontation with Cade. A couple of more students had asked about what had happened the night before with the shooting. Though there had been some sympathy for him from some, a number of other students still didn’t like him, and still believed he had something to with the attempted murder of Cade Foster, as well as the death of Shauna Lanville.  
Those who believed that were most likely friends of Cade, or just went along with it because it was easier. Plus, they didn’t want to lose their social standing or get beat up.

“Karl!” someone called out.

He turned around to see who was calling out to him. It was Michelle Watkins.

“Hi Michelle,” he said as she came up to him.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“I’m okay. Are you sure you want to be seen with me?”

“The hell with Cade,” Michelle said. “And his mom as well.”

The two began to walk down the street. 

“How come you want to be seen with me?” Karl asked. “You know what my dad did.”

“My dad did the same thing,” Michelle replied. 

“So how come I’m getting blamed and not you?”

“Who knows, who cares? I just think its wrong for you being blamed for something that you had nothing to do with.”

“You’re probably the only one who thinks that.”

“So be it,” Michelle said. “Karl, I wanted to ask you if – “ Her cell phone began to beep. She took out her phone and checked it.

“Cade?” Karl asked.

“No, it’s Lisa Weston,” Michelle replied. “I wonder what she wants.” She read the text message from Lisa. 

“Michelle, need to talk. Ladies room near the English classrooms.”

“I gotta go,” Michelle said. “Can I see you later?”

“Sure,” Karl said, nodding his approval. 

“Okay, see you later.”

Michelle smiled and turned around, heading away from her. Karl watched as she walked away, back toward the high school. 

He turned around, headed home, with a strange feeling. For the first time in a long time, he was feeling good about himself. Maybe his life wasn’t as hopeless as it seemed.

__________________________________________________

A few minutes later, Michelle Watkins was back inside the high school. She went into one of the girls’ restroom near the pod of English classrooms, where she found Lisa Weston waiting for her. They were the only ones there.

“I’m here,” Michelle said. “What’s up?”

“It’s about Cade.”

“What about him?”

“He told me what happened.”

“About what?”

“You know.”

Michelle looked at Lisa disbelievingly. “Know what?”

Lisa replied, “He knows that you shot at him last night.”

Michelle raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Don’t pretend, Michelle.”

“And you believe him?”

“Why not?” Lisa said back.

“He’s been trying to convince everyone that Karl shot at him,” Michelle said heatedly, “and we all know that’s not true either.”

“Look, I don’t know why you shot at him, and I really don’t care,” Lisa said. “Just say you did.”

“Okay, I did.” Then Michelle said, “I also killed Shauna.”

Now it was Shauna’s turn to look at Michelle disbelievingly. “What?”

“You heard me,” Michelle replied. “I killed Shauna. She was always making Karl feel bad. In fact, everyone has been, including you. And for what? Something he had nothing to do with?”

“You mean putting my parents behind bars? Yeah, he did. Cade’s mother too.”

“I don’t believe you guys,” Michelle said, her anger rising. “Karl’s dad blows the whistle on his bosses for trying to steal everyone’s money, and everyone treats Karl like crap. My dad tells the feds about Cade’s mom and the hit man she hired and everyone gives me a free pass. Why is that?”

Lisa said, “Come on, Michelle, your dad had nothing to do with this – “

“Don’t give me that!” Michelle snapped. “My dad did just as much if not more than what Karl’s dad did.”

“So what?”

“So? Why does everyone hate Karl and not me?”

“Because Karl has always been a loser and will always be one. You’re not.”

“That’s it? After I shot at Cade and killed Shauna? I even killed the guy Cade’s mom hired, and the guy who was shacking up with Cade’s mom. That jerk tried to get in my pants.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t say a word. Just keep quiet and we’ll make sure Karl gets blamed – “

“The hell you will!”

“Why do you care about that loser?”

Michelle responded, “Why does everyone hate him? Because of you and Cade say so?”

“Like I said, Karl is a loser and always will be!” Lisa said angrily. “The sooner you accept that, the better!”

“The sooner you accept your mom and dad aren’t getting out of jail, the better!” Michelle said back.

Lisa just looked at Michelle, then said, “That’s low.”

“Deal with it.”

“Just what is with you anyway?” Lisa demanded. “Are you in love with Karl or something?”

Michelle didn’t respond. The look on her own face said it all.

“Oh my God!” Lisa exclaimed gleefully. “You’re in love with him!” Then she said, “Perfect!”

“What do you mean?” Michelle demanded.

“We’ll use that,” Lisa said. “Just string him along and when he realizes it, that’s when we’ll go in for the kill. Thanks!”

“Thanks for what?”

“For giving us something to really use against Karl! You’re in love with him, then he’ll fall in love with you if he isn’t already, and when you two get together, we’ll all – “

“No you won’t!” Michelle suddenly broke in.

“Oh, come on!” Lisa said. “This is something we’ve been looking for, something to really humiliate him with. When he finds about how you’re in love with him, he’ll really believe it. And me and Cade and the others – “

“No you’re not! I am in love with him!”

“Whatever you say!” Lisa said. “This is gonna be great! Karl will finally see himself for the loser that he is and we can all thank you for it – “

Michelle’s fist suddenly snapped Lisa head back. Lisa staggered back, surprised at what just happened.

“Michelle! What was that – “

Michelle struck her again, and this time, Lisa fell down on the floor. Before Lisa could say or do anything else, Michelle was on top of her, hitting her again. And again. And again. All with vicious abandonment.

“I love Karl!” she yelled as she kept hitting Lisa over and over again. “You’re not keeping us apart!” Blood began spurting out of Lisa’s nose and coming out of her mouth. Any cries coming out of Lisa’s mouth was quickly stopped by Michelle’s fists. 

“I love Karl! I love Karl!” Michelle screamed as she kept on hitting Lisa. “I don’t care what you all say! I love him! I love Karl….” Michelle kept repeating that as she kept hitting her.

“I love him! I love him!…. _I love Bobby Blue!”_


	12. Chapter 12

Rossi and Kate pulled up in the SUV at the Browning house. A glass repair truck was parked in the driveway, as the front window of the Browning’s house was being repaired.

On the front lawn, Ken Browning was watching the repairmen install new front windows being done while another man stood next to him.

“Hello, Mr. Browning,” Rossi greeted, as he and Kate walked up to them.

“Hi, agent Rossi,” Browning returned. “Repairmen have been here all day.”

“I can help take care of some of the costs,” Rossi offered.

“It’s all been taken care of,” said the other man. “I’m Fred Watkins. I paid the repair company earlier today.”

“You’re with Capital Investments, right?” Kate asked.

“I am. And you’re with the FBI.” The agents nodded. “You got the guy who did this?”

“We did,” Rossi answered.

“This really pisses me off,” Watkins said. “Both me and Ken blow the whistle on Ann Foster and send her to jail, and she sends her goons after Ken but not me. I should be taking the blame for some of this.”

“It’s nobody’s fault but Ann Foster’s,” Rossi said. “But me and agent Hotchner talked to her this morning. We got the impression that she didn’t send the guy who was gunning for the Brownings.”

“She didn’t?” Browning questioned. “Then who?”

“Her idiot son tried to convince us it was Karl,” Rossi pointed out.

“Figures,” Browning said. “Wouldn’t surprise me if Cade Foster hired the hit man.”

Karl Browning walked up to the house. “Hi dad,” he said. “Hi, Mr. Watkins.”

“How are you doing?” Mr. Browning asked.

“Something strange happened today,” Karl replied. “Some of the kids at school actually showed me sympathy.”

“That’s good to know.”

“Of course, Cade thinks I tried to kill him last night.”

“Jerk,” Mr. Watkins said.

“Even your daughter spoke to me,” Karl said to Mr. Watkins. “That kind of took me by surprise.”

“Hi Karl,” Kate said. “Feeling better?”

“I do now,” he replied. “Do you know who that guy from last night was, or if he was even hired?”

“We know who he is,” Rossi replied. “Still working on the last part.”

“You said Michelle talked to you?” Mr. Browning asked. “How is she doing?”

“She’s doing okay, I guess,” Karl replied.

“I talked to her earlier this week,” Kate said. “She seems like a nice girl.”

“I suppose. But I don’t think she’d want to be with the likes of me.” Karl looked over at Mr. Watkins. “No offense.”

“Why would you say something like that?” Mr. Watkins asked. “Michelle is a very nice, responsible, compassionate person.”

“Different social circles, that’s all,” Karl said.

Rossi’s cell phone rang. He took it out and answered it.

“Kate, we have to go,” Rossi said to her.

“What happened?” Kate asked.

“They found another comic strip.” The agents quickly said goodbye and headed to the SUV.

“Where was it found?” Kate asked when they got in the SUV.

“At the high school.”

________________________________________________

Inside the girls’ restroom at Granite Bay High School, the Sutter County Medical Examiner was quick to the point with agent Hotchner, He said, “Someone just plain beat this girl to death.”

His assistant covered the body of Lisa Weston with a sheet, her face beaten and bloodied to the proverbial pulp. A number of police cars were outside in the school’s parking lot.

Hotchner and the rest of the agents along with Detective Harland were already there when Rossi and Kate arrived. They gathered in the main foyer of the high school.

“A janitor making his after school rounds found the body,” Hotchner said to Rossi. “He came in to clean the girls’ restroom, and found our victim.”

“Lisa Weston, a senior here at Granite Bay,” J.J. added, examining the victim’s purse and wallet, which were in an evidence bag. “Both her parents were arrested in the Capitol City Investment scam.”

“Our unsub is getting more daring,” Reid said. “Killing someone inside the high school, and from what we understand, it was about thirty minutes after classes were let out for the day.”

“You were right Kate,” Rossi said. “Our unsub is female. Lisa Weston was killed inside a girl’s restroom.”

“Lisa Weston probably asked someone to meet her in the restroom,” Kate said, “conversation got heated, then Lisa gets killed.”

“And from what the coroner said,” Morgan added, “this girl just plain beat her to death. No weapon found at the scene. She just used her fists.”

“Whatever Lisa Weston said or did,” J.J. said, “it must have set our unsub off. There was a lot of rage and anger behind this murder.”

Morgan got on his cell phone. “Hey baby girl.”

From her office in Quantico, Garcia replied, “Hello, gorgeous.”

“We need to find surveillance footage here at Granite Bay High School,” he said. “Looking for our unsub. She killed someone inside a girls’ restroom.”

“Your unsub is a girl?” Garica replied with a slight surprise. “I’ll find something and hope it helps.”

“Thanks baby girl.”

“We also found this,” Harland said. He held up an evidence bag that had the Bobby Blue comic strip.

“Our unsub is holding true to form,” Hotchner said. “I wonder what that strip is about.”

____________________________________

Fred Watkins came home after his visit with Ken Browning. He went to the kitchen to get a bottle of water when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Daddy?”

“Michelle?”

“I just got back.” He stepped out of the kitchen to see his daughter coming down the stairs. Michelle was wearing a bathrobe and holding a laundry bag.

“I just took a bath,” she said. “What’s up?”

“I was at the Brownings when I heard the news. There was another murder, this time at Granite Bay High School. They found a girl beat to death there.”

“Really? Oh my God!”

Watkins breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m relieved it’s not you.”

“Thanks daddy.” She stepped past him. “I’m going to put this in the washer.”

As Fred Watkins went over to the living room, Michelle went to the laundry room. Once there, she put her blouse and pants from that day into the washer. There was a small splattering of blood on the blouse, not enough to notice, but Michelle wasn’t going to take any chances. She added more clothes and turned on the washer.

She went back to her room, as her cell phone started to beep, signaling an incoming text. Michelle read the text.

_I don’t know why you did this but I’ll make sure no one knows its you. I’ll make sure Karl gets blamed_

It was from Cade. Michelle texted him back.

_No you won’t._

_________________________________________

“There was no surveillance video of the bathroom itself,” Garcia said from her office back in Quantico, “so I concentrated on possible exits the unsub could’ve used closest to that restroom.”

“Did you find something?” Morgan asked over his phone. The agents had reconvened at the Roseville Police Headquarters.

“Yes and no,” Garcia replied. “Yes, I picked up someone leaving an exit closest from the bathroom. No, I didn’t get enough of the person’s face so I couldn’t get a composite of any kind or even for facial recognition, even if the person was in the system. All I can tell you that the unsub was female.”

“Was there anybody else?” 

“Sorry, handsome. No such luck.”

“Thanks Garcia. Stay on the line.”

“So, our unsub is female,” Hotchner said, “most likely a student. Someone who wouldn’t perceive her as a threat.”

“I’ll check her social media and any texts and e-mails she’s had recently,” Garcia said from Quantico.

“Sounds like a friend she’s crossed,” Kate said. “Maybe Lisa threatened our unsub, and underestimated her.”

“But why meet in the ladies’ room at school?” Rossi wondered. “Risk is too great of being seen.”

“Lisa must have said something that set off our unsub and she killed her, not caring how or why.”

“Something like this could make her devolve,” J.J. said, “make her go on a killing spree.”

Harland came into the conference room. 

“We just examined the strip,” he said. “No prints.” He placed the strip, still in the evidence bag. on the table. “It’s from today’s Sacramento Bee.”

The agents examined the strip. It was Bobby Blue, pining for the Little Blue Eyed Girl, but Lori Lavender telling him that she was going to tell her that he didn’t exist.

Rossi pointed out, “Our unsub, on some level, thinks the comic strip is mirroring real life.”

“And by getting rid of the victim,” Reid added, “maybe she’ll think that she’s fixing or saving someone’s life.”

“But whose?” asked J.J.

Hotchner replied, “I think the answer to that is obvious.”


	13. Chapter 13

“Someone thinks this comic strip character is me?” Karl Browning said in disbelief.

“That’s what we believe,” Rossi replied.

Agents Rossi and Hotchner were back at the Browning house that evening, along with Kate. The repairs to the living room window had been finished, while the bullet holes that dotted the living room walls had been covered up with spackle. They were in the kitchen discussing the case with Karl and his parents and sister Tracy.

“Well that person is wrong,” Karl insisted. 

“Unfortunately, our unsub,” said Kate, “believes that your life is somehow mirroring that of the comic strip, and doesn’t want life imitating art anymore.”

“Have you talked to the guy who does this comic strip?” Ken Browning asked.

“We have,” Rossi replied. “He’s in the dark as much as you are. He has no idea who’s doing this, but he is very concerned.”

“Do you have any idea who could be doing this?” Hotchner asked Karl.

“No, I don’t,” Karl replied.

“We believe this unsub is someone you may know,” Kate said. “Someone who thinks by committing these murders is, in their mind, protecting or even avenging you. We also believe our unsub is female.”

“Female?” Karl was surprised. “A girl?”

“A girl?” his sister Tracy chided. “That’s a laugh.”

“The family of the last victim doesn’t find it funny,” Kate said back. Morgan, J.J., and Reid had gone to the Sutter County Jail to inform Lisa Weston’s parents of the death of their daughter earlier that evening.

“Do you know any girls who have been polite or overly nice to you, more than usual?” Rossi asked.

Tracy replied snidely, “You’re kidding, right?”

“Tracy, be quiet!” Mrs. Browning warned.

“No one in particular,” Karl said. “Well, maybe Michelle Watkins. She talked to me today after school, which is kind of unusual in itself.”

“How so?” Hotchner asked.

“She’s like every other girl in his school,” Tracy quickly interrupted. “They don’t talk to him.”

“Tracy!” Mrs. Browning snapped.

“She just felt sorry for me about what happened with the shooting,” Karl said. “She was talking to me, then Cade showed up, pushed her aside, and started accusing me of trying to kill him. He didn’t want her talking to me.”

“Has she ever talked to you before?” Kate asked.

“No,” Karl replied. “She’s in a different social circle. She’s popular, I’m not.” 

“How long have you known her?” 

“Since middle school. But like I said, she’s popular. I’m not. Even after her father helped dad put all those guys in jail.”

“Looks will do that every time,” Tracy chided. 

The agents said good night to the Brownings soon after that. On the drive back to the police headquarters, Hotchner, Rossi, and Kate, pondered what was said that night.

“This girl, Michelle Watkins,” said Hotchner, “could she be our unsub?”

“It’s possible,” Kate replied. “She was sympathetic towards Karl during the counseling, and she was at the book signing and talked to Lee Blanchet. She never gave off any signals that she was in love with Karl, but then again, Cade didn’t want her near him.”

“Maybe trying to kill Cade was her way of saying she was in love with Karl,” Rossi suggested.

“Whatever happened to telling a guy that you weren’t interested in to get lost?” Kate said.

“Those were the days.”

“But for Cade to deny that Michelle tried to kill him,” Hotchner said, “what does that tell you?”

Rossi said, “You must be pretty obsessed with someone if you’re willing to forgive the fact that they just tried to kill you.”

_____________________________________

Saturday morning came to Roseville. 

At the kitchen table, Michelle Watkins opened up that morning’s edition of the Sacramento Bee. She passed the news section and went right to the comics section.

The Bee’s comic section had a number of comic strips, most of them well known nationally. Beetle Bailey, Jump Start, Garfield, LuAnn, to name a few. But the one she wanted to read was Bobby Blue, then cut it out with the scissors.

She found the Bobby Blue comic strip. Once again, Bobby Blue was trying to get close to the pretty but unseen Little Blue Eyed Girl.

“What would I say to her?” Bobby Blue asked himself as he walked towards her. “Hello might not be enough.”

Bobby Blue then stopped and looked around “Where did she go?”

Another boy walked up to him and asked him, “Are you Bobby Blue?”

He answered, "I am."

“The girl you’re looking for just left.”

“Where to? Why?”

“We don’t want her to be affected by your mediocrity.”

Mediocrity? He’s not mediocre, she thought to herself. He’s a good person. There’s nothing wrong with him. Why does he believe that?

The scissors were in her hand, ready to clip out the comic strip. Instead, she stabbed the newspaper as if it were a human being. The scissor blades dug into the kitchen table, splintering into a scar.

She couldn’t let this go on. He can’t go on suffering, being hurt. And for what? Nobody knew why. They just blame him for everything, hurt him, just because they can. For their personal enjoyment. Their need to blame someone other than themselves. 

It had to stop. Now.

She had to stop it. 

It was the only way to make Bobby Blue hers.

She had to stop…..him.

___________________________________

A preliminary autopsy report was awaiting the agents at police headquarters at 9 a.m. The cause of death of Lisa Weston was multiple blunt force traumas to her face and body. It was a straight up beating.

Garcia called the agents that morning. She had checked the bank accounts of both Ann Foster and her son Cade. There were no withdrawals from either of their accounts, since Ann Foster’s was frozen by the feds in light of the Capital City scandal, and Cade’s was being closely monitored. 

“I also checked Lisa Weston’s phone,” Garcia said. “She sent a text to a phone belonging to Michelle Watkins asking to meet her in the ladies room, half an hour before she died.”

“Thanks Garcia,” Rossi said, as the others heard the news.

“Do you think she saw something?” J.J. asked. 

“Maybe she’s the unsub,” Kate added.

Rossi’s cell phone rang. It was 9:45 a.m.

“Rossi? This is Fred Watkins. That jerk Cade Foster is here! He’s screaming for my daughter.”

“We’ll get someone over there as fast as we can,” Rossi told him. He closed his cell phone. “Cade is at Fred Watkins’ house.”

Hotchner, Rossi, Reid, and Kate got into the SUV and headed over to the Watkins house, followed by Detective Harland in his car. 

They arrived ten minutes later. Fred Watkins and Cade Foster were out in front of the Watkins’ house, in a heated argument. The agents got out of the SUV and got between the two of them.

“What’s this all about?” Hotchner demanded.

“I’m here to see Michelle!” Cade snapped.  
“And I told you, she’s not here!” Watkins said back. “She left before you got here! Her car’s not here, see!”

“Do you have any idea where she went?” Rossi asked Watkins

“No,” Watkins replied. He looked angrily at Cade. “And I’m sure as hell not going to tell you!”

“I suggest you leave,” Rossi said to Cade.

Cade Foster took Rossi’s advice, got into his car and left.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Watkins told the agents. “I worried about my daughter.”

“We want to talk to her as well,” Rossi said.

“What’s wrong?” Harland asked.

Watkins said, “I’ll show you.”


	14. Chapter 14

Watkins said to the agents, “Before Cade got here, my daughter told me she was going to out for a while. I was in my study going over some papers, and I was on the phone with a lawyer about the Capital City case. I just got off the phone when Cade showed up, demanding to see Michelle.”

“What’s your daughter’s relationship with Cade?” Hotchner asked, as he Rossi, Reid, Callahan, and Harland, followed Watkins inside the house.

“It’s all in his head,” Watkins replied. “There is none. My daughter doesn’t like him.”

He led to them to the kitchen table where she was earlier. The Sacramento Bee newspaper was on the table, open to the comics section. There was a pair of scissors on the top of the newspaper, which was ripped and torn through the comic section.

“I came out of my study after she left,” Watkins said, “and I found this. That’s when Cade Foster showed up.”

“You were right to call,” Rossi said.

“This looks like she could be our unsub,” Kate said. 

“She must have saw something in the comics section that set her off,” Reid said, as he took out his cell phone. He quickly called Garcia in Quantico.

“House of Internet Knowledge,” Garcia greeted. “What can I do for you today?”

“Garcia, today’s Bobby Blue comic strip,” Reid said. “What happens in it?”

“I was just reading Doonesbury online,” she said back. “Here it is. Apparently, Bobby Blue was looking for the Little Blue Eyed girl character, but she left before he could talk to her.”

“Thanks Garcia.”

“Mr. Watkins, can we look through your daughter’s room?” Hotchner asked. “We could find a clue as to what’s she’s doing and where.”

“Sure,” Watkins replied. He led the agents upstairs to her daughter’s bedroom. He then asked, “My daughter, is something wrong? I mean, is she…?”

Kate replied, “We have reason to believe that your daughter may be the one who’s responsible for the murders here in Roseville.”

The statement definitely shocked Watkins.

“We’re sorry to tell you this,” Hotchner said. “But if we’re right, we need to find her before she does harm to herself or anyone else.”

“I understand,” Watkins said. They all entered Michelle’s bedroom. It looked like the typical teenage girl’s bedroom. The bed was adorned with pink blankets and pillows. The dresser had a mirror with photos taped to them. The walls had posters of various pop music stars.

On her desk, there was a couple of textbooks. There was also a scrapbook. A piece of paper was sticking out from it.

Reid opened the scrapbook. There were dozens upon dozens of clip outs of the Bobby Blue comic strip.

“It looks like she can be an obsessed fan of the comic strip,” Reid noticed.

Kate also looked at the notebook. She noticed some writing on some of the pages.

“What does that say there?” she asked Reid.

Reid moved a few of the strips out of the way. There was writing next to a strip that had been taped to the page. It read: I (heart) Karl.

Reid turned a page. There was an enlarged clip out of the Bobby Blue character. In a space next to the clip out, it was written. Karl.

“She thinks Bobby Blue is Karl,” Reid noted.

“She must think that when something bad happens to Karl, it stems from the comic strip,” added Kate.

Rossi asked Watkins, “Do you have any firearms in the house, and does your daughter know about them?”

“I do,” Watkins replied. “A .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver. It’s in my study. But it’s in my safe and she doesn’t know the combination….wait a minute.”

“What?”

“I also have a .32 automatic. It’s in the nightstand next to my bed.”

Watkins, followed by Hotchner, Rossi and Harland, went to the master bedroom. Watkins went over to the nightstand and opened up the drawer. He looked inside, and by the look on his face, the agents knew what the answer was going to be.

“It’s not here!” Watkins said.

“Was it loaded?” Harland asked.

“Always.”

Now Michelle Watkins was armed and looking for someone else to kill, to make Karl Browning’s life better, easier. The only question was, who?

Kate and Reid kept looking for something, anything that could lead to Michelle’s whereabouts. They went through the school textbooks on the desk but found nothing notes on her homework.

“Here’s another book,” Reid said to Kate, as he showed the book to her. It was a copy of the book, “Always Be True Bobby Blue”, she had bought at the Barnes and Noble a couple of days earlier, while Kate and J.J. were there.

Kate flipped through the pages. As she did, a slip of paper fell out. She picked it up and read what was on it. It was a street address.

“Call Garcia,” Kate said to Reid, as Hotchner and Rossi, and Watkins came back to Michelle’s bedroom. “We need to find this address.” She read off the address.

“I know that address,” Rossi said. “That’s where Lee Blanchet lives.”

“She’s going after him,” Hotchner said. “She believes if she kills him, maybe all of Karl Browning’s troubles go away.”

“Had she killed Cade Foster, maybe they would have,” Reid surmised.

The agents quickly rushed out of the house. “Find my daughter, please!” Watkins pleaded.

“Reid, stay here in case Michelle comes back here,” Hotchner directed. Reid nodded.

“I’m going with you,” Kate said to Rossi and Hotchner. “I’ve talked to her before. Maybe I can get through to her.”

Rossi nodded. They got into the SUV and quickly headed to Rancho Cordova.

On the way down, the agents informed the police in Roseville and Rancho Cordova to be on the lookout for Michelle Watkins in her blue Honda, but not to apprehend unless she was at the address of Lee Blanchet.

“I’m dialing up Lee Blanchet,” Rossi said as he started dialing up. “Maybe we can give him enough time to get somewhere safe.”

The phone began to ring on the other end.

_______________________________________

In his study where he created the Bobby Blue comic strip, Lee Blanchet answered his phone from his stool in front of his drafting desk. “Hello?”

“Lee Blanchet? This is agent Rossi.”

“Agent, what can I do – “

“Look, Mr. Blanchet, there’s not much time,” Rossi quickly said. “Are you alone in the house?”

“I am,” Blanchet replied. “My wife went out to do some shopping.”

“We have reason to believe your life is in danger. A young woman is going over there to kill you.”

“Seriously?”

“Very. Do you have anything to protect yourself with?”

“If you mean, ‘Do I have a gun?’, no.”

“Lock all your doors, and get yourself somewhere safe. We’ll be there in five minutes.”

“Who’s coming to kill me anyway?”

“Our unsub, a teenaged girl.”

“A girl?”

“I don’t have time to explain. Just get somewhere safe.”

“Okay, Mr. Rossi,” Blanchet said, getting out of his chair and turned towards the doorway. “Just get over here and – “

Blanchet froze in place.

“Mr. Blanchet?” Rossi called out. “Blanchet?”

Blanchet replied, “Agent Rossi….she’s here.”

She told him, “Hang up the phone.”

There in the doorway of the study, stood Michelle Watkins, pointing her father’s .32 automatic weapon at Lee Blanchet.


	15. Chapter 15

“Hang up the phone,” Michelle Watkins said to Lee Blanchet.

“Who are you?” Blanchet asked, as he put the phone back in its receiver. “How did you get in here?” Then he said, “Wait a minute. We’ve met before. The bookstore signing this week.”

Michelle stepped forward, emphatically pointing the gun at him.

“What is it that you want?” he asked.

“I want it to stop,” Michelle finally answered.

“What?”

“Everyone hating him, blaming him, treating him like crap.”

“Who?”

Michelle snapped, “You know who!”

_____________________________________________

The SUV pulled up in front of the Blanchet house, followed by a pair of police cruisers from the Rancho Cordova police department and one from the Roseville police. Michelle’s own Honda was parked along the street. They came in with their sirens quiet.

Rossi, Hotchner, and Kate got out of the SUV and put on their bulletproof vests. As they did, a Honda CR-V pulled up to the area. It was Sally Blanchet.

She quickly got out of her car and ran up to the agents. “What’s going on?” she demanded.

“We believe your husband is being held hostage inside the house,” Hotchner replied. “We were on the phone with him when our unsub broke in.”

“Oh my God!” Sally Blanchet gasped. “Is he all right?”

“We just got here, but we believe he’s still alive,” Rossi said. “Do you have a key to the house?”

Mrs. Blanchet took a key out of her purse and handed it to them.

“I’ll go in,” Kate said. “I’ve talked to her before. I should be able to get through to her.”

“Okay, Kate,” Rossi said. “You read the book on negotiating. Final exam time.” Kate nodded, handing her service weapon to Rossi.

Kate took the key from him, and went up to the house. She opened the front door with the key and went inside the Blanchet home.

____________________________________

Michelle took a few steps into the study, as Blanchet backed away from his desk, hands up around shoulder level.

“I know who you’re talking about,” Blanchet said to Michelle, keeping an eye on the gun that was trained on him. “But what can I do about it?”

“I want you to stop it!”

“Stop what?”

“Stop treating him like crap!” Michelle snapped. “It’s because of you that everyone hates him!”

Blanchet insisted, “I never did anything to him!”

“You’ve done everything to him!” Michelle yelled back. “You made everyone hate him, ridicule him, belittle him! Treat him like dirt! And for what? Tell me? What did he ever do to you?”

“You think it’s that simple?”

“Ever since I’ve known him, he’s been hated, and no matter what he does right, everyone still treats him like crap! I want to help him, but I even can’t get close to him. Everyone keeps getting in the way! They’d rather see him suffer and be a loser! The way you want him to be!”

Blanchet looked at Michelle. He knew this girl was unbalanced, but he knew anything he said, would not get through to her.

“And you think I can fix him?” Blanchet demanded.

Michelle raised the gun, leveling it at Blanchet’s head. “No,” she replied. “I will.”

Blanchet’s blood suddenly ran cold. He knew what she meant by that.

“Just tell me one thing,” she said, “how come you don’t want us together?”

“What?”

She repeated louder, “How come you don’t want us together! I’m the only who cares about him, who’s not afraid to show him compassion! Yet nobody wants together! You don’t want us together! Why?” Her voice was getting louder and angrier. “Why don’t you want us together?”

Another voice responded. “He does want you together.”

Michelle turned to see who said that. Kate Callahan was standing in the doorway, her hands up in front of her, unarmed.

“Hi, Michelle,” Kate said to her. “Remember me? I’m Kate. We talked before.”

“Yes, I remember,” Michelle said, a little more calmer. “How did you get in here?”

Kate replied. “Front door. What about you? The back door?” Michelle nodded. 

Kate said, “Michelle, he does want you together. You and Karl.” She looked at Blanchet. “Right?”

“I do,” Blanchet replied nervously.

“See, he does want you and Karl together,” Kate said, keeping her eyes on Michelle. “Things just got a little complicated for him.”

“How?”

“They just did. But that isn’t that what you want? For you and Karl to be together?”

“I do.”

"So why didn’t you go to Karl yourself?”

“I tried, believe me. But other kids at school tried, and Cade and his pals threatened them, He wanted to isolate Karl from everyone. I made the mistake of listening to him and Lisa. But then, I realized he didn’t deserve it.”

“That’s okay. You can still talk to him, Show the world you’re not afraid of what other people think.” Kate stepped closer to Michelle. “There’s a lot of students who need friends like you. Students who feel lonely, outcast. You can help them out. Students like Karl.”

“But all the things they say about him,” Michelle said, “all the things his father did. My father did them too. But they only blame him. They think my father did nothing.”

“Let them think that,” Kate said. “That’s their problem. But this problem we can still fix.”

“I know,” Michelle said, turning back to face Blanchet. She had both hands on the gun, ready to fire at Blanchet.

“That’s not the answer!” Kate quickly said. “You kill him, you won’t change anything.” She then said, “He’s the only who can change all this!”

Michelle looked back at Kate. “Him?”

“Yes, him,” Kate said. “Right, Mr. Blanchet?”

Blanchet looked at Kate. “I can fix this,” he said, nodding his head reluctantly.

“Good,” Kate said. “See? Now, give me the gun and we can walk out of here. Nobody else has to die.”

Michelle looked back and forth at Kate and Blanchet. “I just want Karl to be happy,” she said.

“Then tell him.” Kate said, taking a step closer to Michelle. “We can take you to him. You can tell him yourself.”

Michelle looked at Blanchet, the gun still pointed to him. 

“Tell Karl you care about him,” Kate said. “It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. Tell him you care. Tell him you two can be friends.” Kate held out her hand. “Trust me.”

Michelle looked at Kate, who could see the gun lower in her hands. Finally, she handed the gun to Kate.

“Good, let’s go,” Kate said to Michelle, as Blanchet breathed a sigh of relief.

Kate led Michelle to the front door and they stepped outside. “Clear!” she called out to the other agents and police officers waiting. Two officers from the Roseville Police Department along with Harland came up to Michelle and placed her in handcuffs and read her Miranda rights.

Rossi and Hotchner came up to Kate, and she handed them Watkins’ .32 automatic.

“Looks like you passed,” Rossi said to her. Kate nodded.

Blanchet came out of the house, as his wife Sally ran up to her husband and embraced him. “Oh, thank God,” she said.

“Are you all right?” Hotchner asked Blanchet.

“I am,” Blanchet replied, as the officers began to lead Michelle away. “Tell me, who was that girl?”

Michelle turned around upon hearing that, as the officers tried to lead her away.

“You know who I am!” she yelled back, as the officers pulled her towards the car. “I’m the one he loves! _I’m The Little Blue Eyed Girl!_ ”


	16. Chapter 16

“Hello. Karl?” 

At his home, Karl responded into the phone, “Yes, this is him.”

“This is agent Hotchner with the FBI. We’d like you to come down to the police station.”

“What for?”

“Michelle Watkins wants to talk to you.”

“She does? What is she doing there?”

“We’ll explain when you get here.”

Karl told his father about the call, and the two agreed to go down to the police station together. They got into his father’s car and drove off to the Roseville Police Headquarters. 

They didn’t notice that during the drive, Cade Foster was following them in his father’s car.

____________________________________

Michelle said, “I want to talk to him.”

“And you will,” Kate said to her. “He’s on his way.”

Kate, along with Rossi and Hotchner, were in the interrogation room of the Roseville Police. Michelle was seated at a table with her father Fred, and a lawyer, Ben Schroeder.

“Let me go on the record that I find this very unusual,” Schroeder said.

“So noted,” Hotchner said. “But this is what your client wants.”

“I will tell you everything,” Michelle insisted. “I just want to talk to Karl first.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Schroeder insisted to her.

“I know but I want to talk to Karl,” Michelle said back. 

The interrogation room door opened up. It was Detective Harland. “He’s here.”

“Bring him in,” Rossi said.

A couple of minutes later, Karl Browning entered the interrogation room. 

“HI Karl,” Michelle said. 

“Michelle!” Karl said. “What happened?”

“Let’s give them some privacy,” Hotchner said.

Michelle said, “No, let Kate stay.”

Everyone got up and left the interrogation room, leaving Kate with Michelle and Karl.

“Michelle, I heard about what you did,” Karl said. “Why did you do it?”

“I did it because of you,” she replied.

“I didn’t ask you to kill those people.”

“I know you didn’t. I didn’t know what else to do. I did it because I wanted all the hate towards you to stop.”

“I wanted it to stop too, but not like this.”

Kate asked Karl, “What exactly do _you_ want?”

Karl shrugged, and said, “Friends. People to stop blaming me for what happened with their money. People to stop hating me because of another person’s say-so. I just want to be…happy.”

Michelle said to him, “I’ll be your friend.”

“Me? Why me? Why be friends with someone like me?”

“You’re a good person. You don’t deserve any of this.”

Outside the interrogation room, Harland and a prosecutor from the Sutter County District Attorney’s office were discussing the possibility of a plea deal with Fred Watkins and Schroeder. Hotchner kept a close ear to the conversation, while the other agents watched. J.J. was outside the police station, keeping the media at bay while informing them of the arrest.

The interrogation room door opened up and out walked Kate and Karl. She motioned for the lawyers to go back inside.

“She wants to make a deal,” Kate said to the other agents, “so Karl wouldn’t have to testify.”

“Deal?” Reid asked. “It seems to me that Michelle is going to prison for the rest of her life.”

“She doesn’t want Karl to be in the court room, that’s all.”

“Well, let them figure it all out,” Hotchner said.

Harland came up to the agents. “We’ll be taking Michelle Watkins over to Sutter County Jail. We’ll be holding her there until her arraignment.”

Two officers went into the interrogation room, as Karl exited. Moments later, the officers emerged with Michelle, handcuffed in the front.

With the agents close by, Harland and the officers walked her out the doors of the Roseville Police Station, where the media was waiting. News cameras and reporters from all the Sacramento TV stations, as well as the Sacramento Bee newspaper, were all there, getting video and pictures of what basically was a perp walk. Karl and his father, as well as Mr. Watkins, were close by as well.

“Does she have anything to say?” called out one of the reporters.

“Why did you kill these people?” demanded another.

Michelle looked around the crowd. Ahead in the crowd, she could see Cade Foster, standing there, watching with contempt.

She looked back towards her father and the Brownings. Michelle motioned to Karl to come over to her.

“Do you have anything to say about the murders?” another reporter called out.

Michelle stopped to address the crowd of reporters. “All I have to say is this,” she announced, as Karl stepped up next to her. “Karl Browning had nothing to do with these murders. All I ask is that you treat him with kindness and respect in what you say or write.” 

She then turned to face Karl, and without warning, leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. There were some gasps in the crowd, as the scene definitely took everyone by surprise.

The officers continued the walk with Michelle to the waiting car that would take her to Sutter County Jail. They had taken two steps before – 

“GUN!” 

The agents quickly pulled their service weapons out but it was too late. Two shots blasted the air, as onlookers ran away or dove for the ground.

Morgan ran out in front and charged the gunman. The ex-football player tackled him and drove him into the ground. The gun he held fell out of his hand and onto the ground, as news cameras caught footage of the takedown.

“Is everyone okay?” Hotchner called out, as he quickly scanned the area, his service weapon at the ready.

“We are!” J.J. responded, also looking around, her service weapon in hand.

A split second later, someone yelled “NOOOOOOO!”

The agents looked down at the ground. Michelle Watkins was on the ground, the front of her shirt suddenly turning red from where the bullets had struck her. Her father and Karl Browning were kneeling next to her, trying to hold her up.

“Get an ambulance!” Kate called out. 

Reid quickly ran over to Morgan, who was wrestling with the gunman. It was Cade Foster.

“He pulled a gun!” Cade shouted, as he was forced face down onto the sidewalk.

“Bull!” Morgan snapped back, as he pulled Cade's arms behind his back.

“Karl pulled a gun! He was going to shoot me!” Cade shouted. 

“Shut up!” Reid said back. 

“He was going to shoot me!” Cade insisted. “Do you hear me!”

“No one’s listening!” Morgan said, as he slapped a pair of handcuffs on him.

Harland was on his cell phone, yelling for an ambulance. Rossi, Hotchner, Kate, and J.J., were standing over Michelle as her father tried to comfort her.

“It’s okay princess,” Watkins said to his daughter, taking her by the hand. “Just hold on.”

Michelle’s eyes began to flutter and not in a good way. Still, she managed to look up at Karl.

“Michelle,” was all Karl could say, as he looked on in horror.

She looked right at Karl, and somehow managed a smile.

“I love you Karl,” she said as her voice began to fade. “I love you Bobby Blue….”

Her eyes then closed.

Amid the panicked cries and shouts of the crowd in front of the Roseville police station, no one could hear Karl Browning crying for The Little Blue Eyed Girl.


	17. Chapter 17

QUANTICO, VIRGINIA

It was the Tuesday after the agents’ return from California. Prior to their departure, each of them gave sworn statements to the Roseville police as to what they had seen in the shooting.

It was all the same. Not one of them had seen Karl Browning pull a gun, much less shoot at Cade Foster. 

Also prior to their departure, the agents had reviewed raw footage from one of the Sacramento news cameras at the scene. The cameraman had focused on Michelle Watkins as they were walking in front of the police station. Apparently, just a split second before the shooting, Michelle had suddenly moved in front of Karl. From what they gathered, seeing Michelle kiss Karl had set something off in Cade. 

Cade had went to the police station to see if he could do anything to get Michelle released and Karl arrested. But from what the agents had gathered, Michelle had seen Cade in the crowd and kissed Karl just to spite him, not caring what he thought. Cade obviously didn’t see it that way. Equally obsessed with getting rid of Karl and wanting Michelle only for himself, Cade pulled the gun in an attempt to kill Karl. But Michelle had seen the gun, and even being held by the police, had moved in front of Karl to keep him from being shot. It was the ultimate sacrifice out of love.

The .32 automatic handgun they had relieved from Michelle was the one she used to kill Matt Sherman and later, tried to kill Cade Foster. Later, police re-interviewed neighbors of the Lanvilles. One of them had gone out of town soon after the murders, as she had actually seen Michelle Watkins leave the house at the time of the murder. She had seen Michelle at the Lanville’s home numerous times, and thought nothing of it. 

Harland thanked the agents for the help, and had told them that Cade Foster was going to be charged with first degree murder, with the possibility of the death penalty, being seventeen years old be damned. Shooting a handcuffed prisoner in a crowd with the police all around, and in front of the police station, would do that.

All in all, the case was closed.

But it didn’t feel like that to Kate Callahan.

Both yesterday and today, she worked on some files of other cases but didn’t seem like herself. The other agents had noticed it but didn’t bring it up.

Finally, as noon approached, Reid finally brought it up, as both Garcia and Rossi were passing by her desk.

“What’s wrong Kate?” the boy genius asked. “You’ve been down since we got back from California.”

“I agree,” Rossi said. “You did good work out there getting Michelle to surrender.”

“I know, I know,” Kate said. “It just wasn’t the ending I expected, with Michelle getting shot.”

“None of us knew that Cade Foster was going to shoot into the crowd,” Reid said, “just to try to get Karl. It’s not like Michelle was going to be with Karl and live happily ever after.”

Kate just looked at Reid, who realized what he had said was wrong, though he was technically right.

Rossi said, “What the good doctor meant that, Michelle was going to prison, no matter what. Cade should have let it be.”

“I know, I know what Spencer was trying to say,” Kate said. “Either way, Cade is probably laughing his butt off in prison at Karl’s expense.”

“He’s not laughing too much,” Garcia said. “From what I heard Hotch say, Foster’s dad is letting him rot in jail. He’s having a public defender take his case.”

“Plus, Cade tried to sell that lie about Karl pulling a gun during his arraignment yesterday,” Rossi added. “The judge didn’t buy it either. His bail got denied.”

“Still, it comes out bad for Karl,” Kate said glumly, “seeing Michelle die like that.”

“Try to look on the positive side,” Reid said. “He’s been cleared of the murders once in for all. Now, he knows that did have a friend in Michelle through all this.”

Kate shrugged. “Well, maybe there’s that. But I think something more positive should have come out of this for Karl….”

____________________________________

The next day, after school, Karl got a phone call from, of all people, Lee Blanchet, the creator of the Bobby Blue comic strip. He had been invited to come over to Blanchet’s house in Rancho Cordova at his convenience. He showed up Friday after school.

Karl was greeted at the door by Lee’s wife Sally, then brought over to the study, where Blanchet was working.

“Good to meet you, Karl,” Lee Blanchet said to him. “Glad to see you could make it.”

“Thank you sir,” Karl said back. “What is it that you want to see me about?”

“I heard about what happened at the police station in Roseville,” Blanchet said. “I’m sorry about Michelle. I’ve sent my condolences to the Watkins family.”

“Thanks.”

“Earlier last week, I actually talked to Michelle,” Blanchet said. “She asked if and when good something will happen to Bobby Blue. Maybe it’s time something good did happen to him.”

Blanchet and Karl went over to the drafting desk. “I’ve made a couple of strips for a new storyline. It will appear two weeks from now.” 

Karl looked at the new strips. It showed Bobby talking to a girl.

“Who’s she?” Karl asked.

“That’s her,” Blanchet answered. “The Little Blue Eyed Girl. I’ve named her Michelle.”

Karl looked at the new strips. There were four panels, all showing Bobby Blue talking to Michelle, the Little Blue Eyed Girl.

_“Hi Bobby,” she said._

_“It’s you!” Bobby said._

_“Don’t be scared.”_

_“Is this a dream?”_

_“No, it’s really happening.”_

_“Why me? Why now?”_

_“Because it’s about time we should be together.”_

_The Little Blue Eyed Girl took Bobby by the hand._

_“Don’t worry about the others,” she said to him. Then she leaned over and kissed him._

_Michelle said to him, “I’ve always loved you Bobby Blue,” as they walked together._

____________________________________

_“Love is walking hand in hand.”_ – Charles Schulz.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think of this story. Thanks.


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